Origins of Minimum-Wage Legislation in the United States
4 January 2007
Editor, The Washington Post
1150 15th St., NW
Washington, DC 20071
Dear Editor:
George Will rightly argues that the legislated minimum-wage should be $0 ("The Right Minimum Wage," Jan. 4). Recognizing that Congress never behaves so wisely, Mr. Will argues that a second-best option is to let states with low costs of living set minimum-wages lower than the one set by Uncle Sam. While sensible, this proposal directly contradicts the original purpose of the federal minimum-wage - namely, to protect northeastern textile producers from lower-wage competition coming from rival producers in southern states.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Editor, The Washington Post
1150 15th St., NW
Washington, DC 20071
Dear Editor:
George Will rightly argues that the legislated minimum-wage should be $0 ("The Right Minimum Wage," Jan. 4). Recognizing that Congress never behaves so wisely, Mr. Will argues that a second-best option is to let states with low costs of living set minimum-wages lower than the one set by Uncle Sam. While sensible, this proposal directly contradicts the original purpose of the federal minimum-wage - namely, to protect northeastern textile producers from lower-wage competition coming from rival producers in southern states.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Posted by Don Boudreaux on
Sunday September 16, 2007 at 5:30pm