Former Massachusetts Republican Governor and 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney is urging the GOP to support President Obama in his plans to raise the minimum wage – though it sounded more like political expediency than an ardent principled approach.
Speaking in an interview with MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, the two-time presidential hopeful argued that it was important for the Republican Party to indicate to workers and Hispanics that they are committed to them and job growth.
“I . . . believe that key for our party is to be able to convince the people who were in the working population, particularly in the Hispanic community, that our party will help them get better jobs and better wages. And, that’s what our party’s beliefs do,” Romney said.
Romney added that the policies of the Democratic Party over the past five years have not helped minorities and the poor. “The Democratic party has shown that, over the past five years of their leadership, income inequality has become worse. Minority families have been the most hard hit during these past five years.”
The former business leader has been pretty much out of the political spotlight since losing to Obama in the 2012 election. He has participated in a few interviews, but has been out of sight. Perhaps he has yet to forget his loss to the president.
If you think raising the minimum wage is a good idea then I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news:
– It diminishes employment opportunities for the unskilled, the uneducated, immigrants and youth
– Minimum wage proposals are not based on economic theories, models or premises
– Employment qualifications are heightened
– Businesses reduce staffing levels, cut hours and try to automate their labor force
– Consumers pay higher prices in the marketplace
As Austrian economist Murray N. Rothbard stated: minimum wage laws are “compulsory unemployment.”
This is why he is not president.