Employment and Affirmative Action

Government regualtion of the work place, minimum wage laws, and union demands restrict the access of unskilled labors to employment that could give them the important skills they need to enter and advance in the work force.

Workers must have the skill they need to perform various tasks in the work force. The best experience any worker can gain is on the job training. Minimum wage laws and union demands restrict the access of unskilled labors to employment that could give them the important skills they need to enter and advance in the work force. When minimum wage laws are repealed, workers will be able to get the skills they need to function properly in the work force. In today’s work fore it is important that workers can learn how to use ever-changing technology. The repeal of minimum wage laws and reestablishment of a free-market work force will make the necessity of tax-payer funded job training program obsolete. For more information see 50 Years of Research on the Minimum Wage.

Accroding to the Ludwig von Mises Institute federal regulation has increased every year since 1938, with the exception of 1985 and for three years shortly after the 1994 Congress forced President Clinton to cut regulations and restrain spending. Economist John W. Dawson recently published (January 2007) a study on the growth effects of state regulation. Dawson has examined the correlation between federal regulation and several indicators of economic performance: the level of output per unit of capital, the trend of economic growth, and total factor productivity. He examined both the effects of regulation overall, and the effects of individual areas of regulation through regression analysis. What Dawson found is a one percent increase of the ratio of regulation to capital correlates with a .24 percent decrease in capital productivity.

Regulations on the private sector should at the very least be greatly reduced, if not all together eliminated. The U.S. Senate should work to abolish OSHA and the U.S. Department of Labor. A company will reap increased productivity and lower cost when it treats its employee’s right. In the free-market companies that offer the best incentives will acquire the best employees and become most productive. Workers should be rewarded for the work they do and not because some government regulation says they should. Nations that have the least regulated economies are the most productive. Prime examples of this are Chile and Estonia.

The most important place to remove regulation on businesses is on small businesses. Regulations on small businesses hurt minorities and the poor that could easily escape poverty and welfare if they could take the skills they have (such as auto repair, child-care or hair braiding) and turn it into a home based profitable business. The need for licenses and permits makes this an impossible task for the needy. All these government regulations stop the poor form making a decent living. Those that manage to start a small business must often close it in the first year because of all the expensive fees, taxes, and insurance requirements associated with operating small businesses.

Minimum wage laws prevent employers from hiring unskilled labors to give them important experience. The laborers in turn are unable to become employed at all. Furthermore, minimum wage laws restrict the number of people a company can hire. Each company only has a limited amount that they can pay their employees. When minimum wage is increased the number of employees that can be hired is decreased. The first people to be let go or not hired are those who lack skills (the skills they will never get in the first place due to minimum wage laws). Many service-oriented businesses only pay their employees minimum wage. They only give raises when minimum wage is increased. These jobs are important because they often provide a first job for young workers. The creation of minimum wage laws removes competition for jobs within this important sector of employment. In this way the minimum wage laws actually create lower average pay rates for entry-level jobs. With all the economic harm caused by minimum wage laws, the best thing to do would be to repeal all minimum wage laws.

Governments have long recognized how attractive “tax credits” are to individuals and companies. When government is returned to its proper and limited function most, if not all taxes should be able to be greatly reduced if not totally eliminated (see taxes below). When this is done every company and individual in Tennessee will get a “complete tax credit”. When America becomes tax free, it will see unprecedented economic and employment growth. This would have a far greater economic impact than giving only a few companies or individuals a “partial tax credit.”

Affirmative action creates quotas for the number of certain employees and promotions at each company. While doing this affirmative action send a negative message about minorities. Affirmative action essentially conveys the message that the minorities being “protected” by affirmative action are incapable of achieving employment or promotion on their own merits. A free society that advocates the equality of all must stop supporting racist and sexist policies such as affirmative action. It is an outright insult to minorities to say that they need a government regulation to help them make it in the business world.

The number of single parents is on the increase. Often in two parent homes, both parents must work to just make ends meet. For these reason childcare is becoming an important issue for America’s workers. Many of the working poor cannot afford to put their children in childcare, and so are prevented from entering the work force. This problem may be solved in just a few simple steps without using any taxpayer money. First the U.S. Congress must cut taxes and deregulate America’s companies to encourage economic growth. All states should be encouraged to do the same thing. This vast creation of employment opportunities will mean that companies will have to compete for employees. When companies begin to compete for employees they must meet the needs of perspective employees. With today’s changing family structure will mean that companies will have to provide childcare. When companies begin providing childcare to their employees, the childcare industry will also experience phenomenal growth. People who are currently unemployed, that have child care skills, will be able to enter the childcare workforce.