Yesterday, I received a call from a client. Below is roughly the conversation.....
Her - Gordon, I have a couple of employees here who would like me to hire their kids for a couple of hours after school until their shift ends. They are 16. Do I have to pay minimum wage?
Me - Yes, in Ohio the minimum wage is $7.25.
Her - Are you kidding me? All they're going to do is take out the garbage and help clean up.
Me - Sorry, but that's the law.
Her - I don't really need them but I thought I'd give them a job to take some of the load off during our pick up time. I thought for $5.00/hr it would be worth it but I can't justify paying that.
Me - Welcome to the NFL.
So class, let's walk through what the minimum wage was supposed to do versus what is actually happening.
1) It was supposed to pick up the wages of workers who have families. Instead it blocks employment opportunities for young people trying to get an entry way into the job market.
2) Instead of getting money into the hands of workers, it just increased the work load for those already employed.
3) I don't now if these kids would be counted for purposes of teenage unemployment but instead of having a couple of teenagers making 40 - 50 bucks a week, they'll now get to go home and get knocked up by some other unemployed teenagers.
It's all coming to plan.
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