I',m watching the debate on minimum wage in the house and wondering about the arguments against it.

      It seems to me that wee wouldn't need such a thing if there weren't people willing to work for a below living wage because they are used to living for far less where they come from.

      The main argument from the Republicans are that if it is raised the jobs will disappear, it seems to me that if the current laws on illegal workers are enforced the wages will rise to attract the needed workers rather than lower to pay the illegal workers currently taking those jobs for less than a living wage.

      I have also wondered how the terms “Free trade” and “Fair trade” can be applied when the importers are not required to import from manufacturers that must adhere to the same regulations as the us manufacturers must. Of course it is cheaper to make goods in a place where the environment can be disregarded as well as the workers safety and basic human health concerns any U.S. Company must pay for while competing with the “Free trade, Fare trade” countries.

      So we are forced to bring people up to poverty levels with a minimum wage law, while refusing to correct the problems we are currently facing that are creating or at least agitating the base causes.

      Why has the federal government been so reluctant to enforce the current laws against companies who hire undocumented workers for sub poverty wages? It seems that if you need a translator to give instructions to your employee then you probably shouldn't be hiring them

      The argument is that false documents are so easy to come by, which is not the responsibility of the employer and the employer can't be held responsible for knowing about them.

      It seems to me that is a false argument to a degree and that if they are a guest worker that a data base already exists that can be checked for multiple users of the same permits, and if they profess to being a legal resident that they should not need a translator to give instructions for the work, and by applying those two criteria that most of the illegal workers in this country would be out of a job and those companies would be hiring U.S. Citizens at a living wage to fill those job needs.

      Supply and demand works both ways and if the federal government is going to refuse to enforce the laws that prevent the supply of workers that take the place of a decently paid citizen then the problem will not be removed and the illegal workers will simply be earning more.

      This is not to say that people should not be paid a living wage and if a minimum wage is needed to get the employers to do the right thing then it should be done, but if the employer has the ability to hire someone who is getting ten times their earnings in their home country, and is used to living at below our countries poverty level, with multiple families in a household and will work for a wage that would drive an American family into debt and hunger, then why wouldn't a businessman hire the resource for the lower cost ?

      The problem is companies who's charter is to take as much as possible for the sake of profit without care for the country or people they take from. And if it takes the government to help those citizens against such a hostile business entity then as undesired as government in our life is it is the lesser of two evils.

      One could also argue that if the poor had some money to spend they might increase he flow of the economy.