Biden Orders Minimum Wage for Bureaucrats

President Biden has issued an Executive Order granting all federal workers a minimum wage of $15.  So, what is wrong with that? EVERYTHING!!!

First of all, increasing the federal compensation levels for federal workers should be part of the federal budget process.  That means Congress should establish any minimum wage.  But – unfortunately – Congress does truly little of what it is supposed to do.  As a result, it has created a law-making, war-declaring budget-establishing vacuum that Executive Orders are filling – putting the Balance of Power concept out of whack.

The second problem is that the Order is pure political symbolism with little to no impact on the economy or on the federal workforce.  And that is arguably a good thing.  It will not add to our federal expenses.  But that only applies to this Executive Order regarding federal workers.  An expansive private sector order would have bad results – as noted below.

Why won’t this particular Order have any impact? 

If you have kids, you may be familiar with the book series, “Where’s Waldo?”  Each page has a cartoon featuring hundreds of tiny people in various settings.  The object was to find Waldo among the crowd.

This reminds me of that kiddie challenge because finding a federal employee making less than $15-per-hour is as difficult as finding Waldo – maybe more so.  Remember, job-for-job federal workers – and almost all government workers – are highly paid when compared to private sector counterparts.

The third issue is that the minimum wage, itself, is devoid of the promised benefits.  It applies to a very small percentage of American workers – and the modest benefits for the few will be short-lived.  Individual employers will find it necessary to undertake one of three strategies – or a combination of the three – to cover the cost of any imposed increase.  Employers will:

Forgo planned or future general wage increases. 

Eventually, even low-level inflation catches up, and the benefit is nullified.  That is why there are demands to increase the minimum wage over and over again.

Delay in hiring or even laying off workers. 

Virtually every economist and business leader – from Bill Gates to the owner of Joe’s Diner – have confirmed that fact.  Increasing minimum wage thwarts any plans for job creation.  It is a job killer – and the higher the minimum wage the more jobs it kills.

Raise prices

Adding to the financial burden of all consumers.  Regulation of wages and prices has never worked.  It has created inflation and/or resulted in shortages.

Minimum wages are never living wages – and never have been.  They are intended for that segment of the working public that does not require a full-time living wage.  Minimum wage is for interns, second incomes, semi-charitable work, retirees, teenage part-time workers, etc.  As the minimum wage increases, those types of opportunities shrink or disappear.

The increase in the minimum wage for federal workers is just one more indication that Biden is going to rule from the top-down philosophy of the radical left whether it benefits we the people or not.

So. There ‘tis.