9.
Impact on Young, Minorities
The no-good do-gooders advocating the minimum wage say they are doing
so in the name of the poor and downtrodden. But it is these very same
low-skilled who are harmed the most by this law. A look at unemployment
statistics makes this point shockingly clear:
| CATEGORY |
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE |
| October 1998 |
| Overall | 4.6% |
| 16 - 19 years of age | 16.0% |
| Blacks 16 - 19 years of age | 29.1% |
| 25 - 54 years of age | 3.6% |
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
As can easily be seen, the minimum wage law is wreaking havoc on the
job opportunities of those at the lowest end of the socioeconomic scale.
During the Great Depression of the 1930's unemployment peaked at a high
of 25% of the workforce. Any time there is double digit un-employment the
economy is regarded as being in a serious recession. By these standards,
teenagers are currently suffering a very serious recession, and there's
a super depression
among Black teenagers -- this during a time of general economic
prosperity! Further, these figures for Black teenagers include
middle-class suburban Blacks and upper-class Blacks. Among inner-city
Black populations the unemployment rate for these teenagers exceeds
50%. During a recession for the
overall economy these unemployment statistics for the least
well-off get even worse! Of course minimum wage law advocates prefer to
ignore these results, content with their good intentions in supporting
this terribly cruel law.
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