Proving Minimum Wages Laws Make People Worse Off

This article from AP shows why Congress should have listened to economists when they said that a higher minimum wage will destroy jobs. Those hit the hardest will be teens and people with little to no skill.

Sure enough, there is now a teen employment issue.

Teen hiring has slumped by 5 percent since March 2007, with many
mom-and-pop stores, which typically hire younger workers, laying off employees.
Hiring in the overall job market fell by just 0.1 percent during the same
period.

That's still not as bad as the 13 percent drop in teen hiring in the
early 1990s. That means that if the larger job market mirrors the last teen
hiring slump, "we're not out of the woods," said Michael P. Niemira, chief
economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Congress cannot overpower the market forces that drive wages. It is productivity that drives wages higher, not government mandates. While the higher minimum wage is great for those fortunate teens that have jobs, it is difficult situation for those teens that cannot find employment.

Someday maybe Congress will wise up and realize they need to let the market handle these issues.