Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
The concept seems so ... un-American.
Government can decide how much a Mom and Pop shop has to pay its employees?
That has to be unconstitutional, doesn’t it?
But just as we’ve allowed government to tell restaurant owners whether smoking is allowed in their place ...
Just as we’ve allowed government to decide whether alcohol can be sold on Sundays ...
Just as we’ve allowed government to determine who can host horse races — and who can’t ...
... It seems we simply have accepted the idea that Big Brother knows best when it comes to how we operate our private businesses.
Despite outcries from area Chambers of Commerce, the state Legislature seems poised to raise the minimum wage a New Mexico business owner must pay associates.
A bill approved by committee last week asks the minimum wage go from $7.50 an hour to $10 an hour. The Democrat-championed bill would also eliminate a lower base wage for employees who receive tips.
Even some Republicans who oppose the bill are not grasping the notion that government should avoid involving itself in transactions between individuals looking for work and individuals hiring workers.
“I think we need to raise the minimum wage — but this might be a little much,” Rep. Tim Lewis, R-Rio Rancho, told the Albuquerque Journal.
No, Rep. Lewis, you’re only half right. The state does not need to raise the minimum wage; the state needs to let freedom ring.
So we cannot be surprised this is about to happen, probably by July.
We’ve accepted government interference — even asked for it many times — in running our private businesses for so long that we’re not even inspired to bite the “guiding hand” of bureaucrats anymore.
It’s great to see the Chambers of Commerce pine for individual liberty on topics like this; but they are the same Chambers of Commerce that embrace economic development corporations.
And you can’t ask for public money to blend with private money at Christmas time, then demand government stay out of our lives when the Legislature goes into session.
Common sense tells us a mandated minimum-wage increase will result in fewer jobs and/or higher prices. The money doesn’t come from heaven after all.
Anyone who can do basic math understands this is a bad idea.
But we can’t be surprised it’s happening any more than we’re surprised small businesses across the state continue to struggle to survive as we all inch closer to a welfare state.
And it’s all happening with barely a whimper.
— David Stevens
Publisher