why are conservatives against minimum wage increase, but not raising their salary?

Question

more of the conservative hypocricy.

Answer 1

It's the kind of selfishness that can plague every politician. I grant that this tends to be more of a conservative problem, but how many of our elected officials actually end up doing what they say they will for the little guy (you and me)? I'm trying to make ends meet and survive while they all live in pretty posh circumstances. The truth is that human nature really doesn't work well with political officials. Most politicians epitomize the phrase that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Answer 2

Let the market determine a worker's wealth. Mandating a minimum wage creates an artificial value on one's work. Raising the minimum wage will not automatically raise all other wages, but only squeezes the lower paid workers out of a job. Private business is not a social program. They exist to make money. If I was paying someone $5.50/hr to do a job and then the gov't comes along a forces me to pay $6.00/hour with no increase of value to the company, then I will be force to lower, or retard the growth of other wages to make up for the difference. Without a equal increase in revenue, the extra expense must come from someplace to maintain profit. If I had 100 employees that just got a fifty cent raise, then the gov't just cost me $97, 500 over an year. I can fire those one hundred people and hire 100 Indians at $3.00/hr to do the same job. So instead of losing $97.5K in profit, I can reduce my expenses and add $487,500 over a year by outsourcing. Go ahead and raise minimum wage to $100/hr, the effect will be the same.

Answer 3

Your analogy is false. Conservatives believe all pricing should be based on competition. Whether its labor, or bananas, conservatives belief the marketplace should establish the price.
When you interfere with the natural market forces, then you create problems. For example, how would McDonalds deal with a raise of the minimum wage to $10/hour? First, they reduce employees significantly. All order takers at take out windows could easily be moved to India, where the order is entered by computer, and instantly sent to the kitchen. Then McDonalds would also raise prices, to maintain their margins, and be forced to raise their managers wages. (You cant pay a clerk 20k a year, and their boss 22k a year. ) In addition, wage inflation will force all jobs to increase wages proportionately, that will cause greater price inflation. Now what you have done, is sent millions of jobs overseas, or forced them to be eliminated. (Like auto checkout at the grocery store? Expect the same at the McDonaldss of the future)
Conservatives dont dislike people making as much as they can. Conservatives dislike someone determining what a salary should be, when they know nothing about the industry involved.

Answer 4

And all those high minded liberal democrats voted against it... correct? It's the way the game works in Washington DC - they have to propose legislation to raise their own wages, and go on record, either for or against it. It's the only way that it can be accomplished - it happened just as often and just the same way when the democrats were the majority party - but they never talk about that.

The minimum wage has forever been a proven way to slow down economic vitality and put a real drag on economic opportunity - job growth slows, as many small businesses curtail new jobs or even have to cut back because they cannot afford to increase their wages. Liberals think that anyone in business can automatically afford every dumb idea that some legislators want enacted - and liberals like to look like they are "doing the right thing" - even though their policies force many small and medium size businesses out of business. But that is part of being a liberal "looking good" and they don't care what the effects of their policies are, as long as they can stand up before a camera and say that they "are working hard for all Americans..." even as they put a good share of them out of work...

Liberalism - it's all about being delusional.

Answer 5

Because wages should be determined by free market, by what you are willing to work for not by more laws. By the way, very few people make minimum wage and most of them are in high school or college and just starting out. Most illegals in AZ make more than minimum wage too. The going rate for illegal construction guys is 10 per hour in Phoenix

Answer 6

You are a dope. The Democrats voted to raise their own salary too.

Raising min wage will only cause problems. It will cause places that pay min wage to hire less.

Also, I don't make min wage but the price of gas and living has gone up for me so where is my raise? I don't make much more than min wage so if they raise min wage does that mean I should have a raise too? If not why?

Answer 7

hahaaha! did you see the latest? they stuck a minimum wage hike (2.10 and hour over 3 years) with an inheritance tax reduction into one friggin bill! so, all the little people get a few bucks while a select few (about 8,000 people) stand to gain bbbbillions. So sneaky! Now they can tell their constituents, "Look! I'm for the minimum wage hike!"

Answer 8

Why don't liberals refuse to accept pay raise when there is supposedly so much abject poverty in America.?Wake up you ardent fool!!!!

Answer 9

because they r greedy
what more for them is better for them
and if others get more then it might be less for them

Answer 10

Exactly. See my question a few days ago: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Al0k01gWi.wvsqNRFpnn8LPsy6IX?qid=20060728122232AAD4WSw