Some time ago the boys over at Poison Your Mind commented on the fact that Obama nominated Alan Krueger for Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors. When Obama made the nomination I didn’t think much of it, but then as I read the commentary I noticed that Krueger is the gentleman that has provided me some small amount of consternation. See, it turns out that Krueger is none other than the author of the report that showed a rise in the minimum wage did not negatively impact employment. He did this by studying the impact of a rising minimum wage in New Jersey compared to a static minimum wage in Pennsylvania. Specifically he focused on fast food restaurants.
See, I’ve long been a proponent of abolishing the minimum wage in order to give people the opportunity to work. The idea being that the minimum wage unfairly discriminates against low skilled and low educated individuals. When the price of labor rises, some labor will be idled. It has long been a thorn in my side that this study showed a rise in the minim wage did not cause labor markets to react as I thought they would.
Poison Your Mind’s post gave me reason to study.