Dems about to double the federal minimum wage. "What? Y'say that will kill jobs? Nonsense!"

Decades ago the price of oil began to skyrocket, eventually reaching $150 per barrel.  (It's about one-third of that price today.)   If you're under 30 or so you don't know what happened to the world's economy when the price of oil skyrocketed, but don't feel bad: You were probably starting a career, maybe a family, and you had way too much to do to pay attention to arcane things like the economy.

The answer is, with the price of oil suddenly far higher than a month earlier, business people began working hard to find ways to use less of this suddenly-costly oil, and fewer inputs made from oil.

The principle just shown has been recognized by economists for decades:  When the price of any input to production increases, businesses find ways to use less of that component.  Duh.

Want more examples?  Starting around 1970 thousands of American businesses--including Fortune-500 companies--began moving their production (factories) overseas.  Why?  Because the cost of labor, and the cost of complying with endless regulations, were far lower overseas.  This meant that even after adding the cost of shipping the finished products to the U.S., total production costs of offshore manufacturing were way lower than the cost of producing the same product in the U.S.

In case you're not clear on the concept, this meant higher profits.

In case you STILL don't understand, if all other things are equal, people who run businesses seek higher profits.

Even most notoriously dumb liberals know this one.  And yet Democrats--particularly in the Biden/Harris cabal-- foolishly believe that thanks to some magic they believe applies only to them, ONE component of production cost is totally unaffected by the same rule that applies to every other component.  And what do you think Democrats think that immune components is?

Wages.

So now the Dems have rammed through a law increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour--happily ignoring economists who warn that this will simply cut the number of entry-level jobs.

Naturally Democrats, being so much smarter than the rest of the population, don't believe that.  See, not only are they experts in virology, infectious diseases, atmospheric physics, solar irradiance, plate tectonics and everything else, they think they're also smarter than economists.

The top Dem leaders believe all that matters is power--and that the key to getting and keeping power forever is  a) fawning media coverage; b) using the Media to tell people how wonderful Democrats and their policies are; and c) using their social media allies to prevent critics from posting anything that contradicts the Dem Party line.

The relationship between an increase in the minimum wage and a decrease in the number of entry-level jobs has been extensively studied.  And guess what?  Unlike Global Warming, this effect is real.  

But the Dems don't believe it--or at least don't care.  To them, virtue signalling and vote-buying are the key to permanent control.  So since they now control every power center in government, they can do as they damn well please to increase that power.  And that's exactly what they're doing.  And the fawning media--led this morning by one of the dumbest talking heads on cable TV (which is really saying something)--are absolutely on board.

Fawning.  Slobbering with excitement.  Eager to bleat that more than doubling the federal minimum wage is the Best Thing Evah!  And that there can't possibly be any adverse effects.

Hey Media talking heads: if that's true, why don't you recommend raising the federal minimum wage to, say, $100 per hour?
 
Oh, you say that's totally different?  Might cause problems?  Please do explain your reasoning.  Meanwhile here's Chris Hayes:


This is actually a fascinating glimpse into the chaotic, echo-filled brain of a media figurehead.  Hayes makes the totally fact-free, unsupported assertion that doubling the federal minimum wage will have no negative effect at all, confident that the liberal morons who follow him will accept his fact-free claims without question.  

And of course they do.  And the rest of the Mainstream Media applauds.

And of course to the Harris-Biden regime it doesn't matter whether doubling the federal minimum wage will kill more entry-level jobs, because if the economy tanks, no one can prove that they caused it.  Only two things matter to them: a) they can signal their virtue to their worshippers; and b) that doubling the federal minimum wage is wildly popular with young voters, since they're the ones who benefit most.

Simply put, the Democrats are buying votes.  I'm...shocked.  Not.

Doubling the federal minimum wage is almost certain to prompt much more automation, resulting in fewer entry-level summer jobs for young Americans. That means fewer college students hired to bus tables to pay for tuition or textbooks.  The cost of restaurant food will increase because the food industries use huge amounts of low-skill labor.

The facts are clear:  Business owners and execs will respond exactly the same to a doubling of labor costs as they would to a doubling of the cost of any other economic input.  The arrant stupidity and ignorance of Democrats and the chattering classes in either failing to know this, or ignoring it, can'tchange that fact.

Nothing can replace the economic activity that will be lost because of this incredible ignorance of economics and the real world.

H/T to CBD at Ace of Spades.  http://ace.mu.nu/archives/392864.php