The problem

On the surface, minimum wage appears to be sound and tender policy because, after all, it demands businesses pay lower-end employees an hourly wage that meets or exceeds a given threshold. However, all is not as it seems.

This is a form of price-fixing, in that it regulates how businesses sell their employment.

Statistics continually suggest that countries without a minimum wage have little or no unemployment because businesses can hire more employees at lower hourly wages.

Let's consider an example. A business can afford to spend $10 an hour for additional employees. If the minimum wage is set at $7.00 an hour, that business can hire one additional employee. Now consider the flexibility that business might have without the constraints of a minimum wage. That same business can afford to hire 2 additional employees at $5.00 an hour. One additional American finds work.

Opposition arguments stem from the possibility that employees are taken unfair advantage of, which is untrue at best. Current market conditions will establish a dynamic threshold for which businesses can hire. No one, for example, would work for 50 cents an hour. The answer is a simple analysis of basic economics: supply and demand.

A minimum wage prevents employment. A Joint Economic Committee Report published in 1996 drives home one solid, factual conclusion, that "raising the minimum wage hurts the poor. It takes away jobs, keeps people on welfare, and encourages high-school students to drop out. Policy makers should be clear on the consequence of higher minimum wages." -- or a minimum wage to begin with.

An increase in the minimum wage is equally as concerning. An increase in the minimum wage without an equal increase in employee demands in productivity is an unequal balance. This unequal balance tips the scale in the direction of further unemployment for prospective future workers.

Our lawmakers have grossly over generalized what wealth is, and how it is built; many believe establishing a minimum wage benefits the economy and helps workers. It does none of the above. Our lawmakers need to strongly oppose a minimum wage and allow more workers, equipped with a variety of skill levels, to find work.

The solution

The solution is a relatively easy one, although it is not popular among many in Congress.

• End the minimum wage. Let the market decide employee wages.
• If minimum wages are not eliminated, do not raise wage requirements. This makes employing workers more difficult for many businesses.