I was glancing at a local Western New York newspaper, when I came across an article entitled, “Minimum Wage Increase Creates Unintended Effects”–I was excited to finally see an article that addressed the problems with the minimum wage, like increased unemployment.
However, as I began reading the article I became disappointed. Turns out, the article wasn’t about this sort of unintended consequence at all. Instead, it was an article about the plight of the working poor, many of whom, according to the article, no longer qualify for public assistance due to the increase in the minimum wage.
Most of the article was devoted to interviewing the director of a local community action agency.
[the director], said as minimum wage creeps higher, many workers who have been receiving public assistance benefits now find themselves ineligible. This increase hurts the working poor who, despite making a little more each month no longer qualify for the extra assistance they rely on to feed their families, or pay heating bills, she said”…
“The services were designed to help the working poor people out of poverty, but those people are no longer receiving those services,” Ms. Keller said.
“The ones who are receiving those services have some issue that disqualifies them from the work mandate. Because they have such complicated life issues those benefits aren’t helping.”
I swear some of these people really do think that money grows on trees. At least they finally see that the minimum wage isn’t all it’s cracked up to be…even if it’s for the wrong reasons.