The over-regulated, over-interfered-with market we have now has caused the worst economic meltdown ever. My mother & father grew up during the Great Depression (he born in 1912, she in 1922), and my mother being of the mind that education is a good thing, always had books around. . . many of which dealt with issues relating to the 1930s and 40s. . . I taught myself to read when I was 3, and within 2 years I was reading these books and others voraciously. Between parents and books, I learned enough about the Great Depression to recognize the similarities to today's financial crisis: It is worse now.
One of the worst offenders in the laundry-list of "Things That are Screwing Our Country Up" is the minimum wage (unions rank right up there, though). Rather than let the market set wages and hiring practices, Duh Gubmint has stepped in and guaranteed the market will fail, wages will go down (unless you work for Duh Gubmint, or a union), prices will go up, and unemployment will rise (again, unless you work for Duh Gubmint). . .
In a Free Market, if you don't pay good wages you don't attract good employees and your business fails; what we have now guarantees low-quality employees because that's what the minimum wage pays for. The Minimum wage was (as I understand it) originally set in place to prevent employers from ripping off their illegal Mexican employees; now, we are all expected to work for the same wages. Don't believe me? Walk into a Burger King or McDonald's and see how many of the employees are no-speaky-English Mexicans who will invariably get your order wrong. . . happens to me on a regular basis out here in California.
In a Free Market, you don't have to raise your prices to cover yet another government-mandated wage increase or lay people off (read:fire) because you've had to raise your prices to cover so many increases that you start losing customers. . . Or you don't hire the extra guy to work weekends. . . and your business suffers. . . In a Free Market, your prices can more accurately reflect the fact that people voluntarily negotiating higher wages have more money to spend, which means more people can buy your product or service and your business thrives. . . and will need more, high-quality employees not fewer, low-quality ones. More people have more money, can afford to buy more. . . nobody 'needs' to hire illegal Mexicans in order to prop up the 'bottom line. . . equating to more American jobs, more high-quality employees, and the cycle continues. . .
Which brings us to. . .
Free Market means, you and I can agree on a price, or a wage, or employment, voluntarily as opposed to having an "agreement" forced on us at gunpoint by Duh Gubmint. Don't want to hire someone because they're black? In a Free Market, you aren't forced to and your customers will "vote with their wallet." If enough people agree with your policy your business will thrive and if too many people disagree your business will fail. Only want to pay $5 an hour? You're gonna have a hell of a time finding quality employees at that wage, and again, your business will fail, as it should; Your business will do better with 5 $10 an hour employees that know what they're doing than with 5 $5 an hour employees that are simply desperate for a job. . . And Duh Gubmint is out of the loop, as it should be.
Free Market means a company that operates in an irresponsible manner goes out of business instead of being artificially propped up by Duh Gubmint (read:taxpayers like you and I). . . Can you say "Fannie Mae" or "AIG?"
Free Market means, if you want to grow corn, you grow corn - Duh Gubmint doesn't pay you not to just to keep prices up. And if the market for food corn is better, you grow food corn . . if the market for ethanol-producing corn is higher, you grow corn for that. Everybody wins.
Free Market means if you charge too much for a product or service, nobody buys. . . Instead, we have Omni Consumer Products, and you have to buy from them because they've lobbied (read:bribed) Duh Gubmint to regulate their competition out of business so they can charge what they want. . . competition helps keep prices sane. . . and so people with government-mandated wages have to either purchase things used or do without or go so deep into credit card debt that they'll never get out.
A smart businessman knows if you charge a little less, more people can afford what you're selling, and you make your profit on volume. . .Duh Gubmint has nary a clue.
Since I wrote this, I found an article that explains this a bit more concisely. . . http://www.fff.org/blog/jghblog2008-12-09.asp
Why is this so simple for me to understand, and so freakishly difficult for damn near everybody else?
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