Why I Am Against the Suggested Increase in the Minimum Wage

Raising the federal minimum wage, especially for the reasons put forth by many supporters, is a mistake.  President Obama proposed a 39.31% increase of the federal minimum wage during his State of the Union speech and this proposed wage hike is bad for business, bad for workers, and bad for our country.

If this drastic increase becomes law, employers will simply pass this increase on through higher prices for consumers, decreased training opportunities for current employees, and fewer employment opportunities for lesser-skilled and inexperienced workers.  I wonder, do you think many people will favor a proposed minimum wage hike if it meant higher prices for milk at the grocery store, a more expensive Big Mac, and latte prices far north of $5 at Starbucks?  In addition, would the proponents of an increased minimum wage still support this increase if they realized that it would result in employers offering fewer training opportunities for the workers earning the federally mandated minimum wage?  Research suggests that employers will look to implement tactics such as these in an effort to cut employment costs.  Finally, there are many studies that indicate that even a 10 percent increase in the minimum wage can result in reduced employment for low-skilled workers by 1 to 3 percent.  I do not believe this is what many of the supporters of the $10.10 minimum wage have in mind.

Frequently I hear advocates for an increased minimum wage speak of the need for hourly wage earners to be able to support a family.  In fact, I hear all sorts of claims that are simply not backed up facts.  Here is a link to a US. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, that addresses characteristics for minimum wage workers in 2012.  If you don’t have the time to click it and run through the statistics, I will provide a brief summary for you:

·         *Most minimum wage workers are young, part-time workers, and relatively few live below the poverty line

·         *50 percent are between the ages of 16 to 24

·         *60 percent hold a part-time job

·         *Less than 20% percent are from families below the poverty line

·         *Approximately 25 percent are married

·         *Only about 5 percent of the over 75 million hourly wage earners in our nation are paid the current federally mandated minimum wage or less

·        * Education, as always, matters as about 10 percent of those who had less than a high school diploma earned the federal minimum wage or less, compared with about 4 percent of those who had a high school diploma (with no college) and about 2 percent of college graduates

Raising the minimum wage is not a good idea.  Price floors are antithetical to a free market economy and harmful to low-skilled and inexperienced workers.  In addition, I believe an increase in the minimum wage will result in even fewer employment opportunities for the most marginalized demographic in our society— African American males (click here for some current statistics).  These positions were never intended to support families.  Rather, they served as an opportunity to acquire experience, gain skills from job training, and function as a launching pad for a move to something bigger and better.  If our nation is truly interested in addressing income inequality perhaps they should stop looking to treat the symptoms and look to eradicate the cause(s).

Would you like to work for this company?

My good friend, John Kovac, sent me an email regarding my last blog post and included a link to an article on his company.  SAS, a tech company based in North Carolina, is generally regarded as one of the best companies to work for in the world and  John is fortunate to have recently joined them.  After reading this article I have to admit that I am a bit envious of the perks available to SAS employees.  Click here for a link to the article.

Monday, November 25, 2013

Good morning! I hope all of you in the US are looking forward to a shortened work week due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

1. To read another call for bringing the private sector into public education please click here.  To echo Larry Kudlow, I believe free market capitalism is the best path to prosperity and I think many of the points made in this article are valid.  Good businesses attract more customers and are replicated, whereas bad businesses go out of business; wouldn't it be great if the same were true for schools?

Wouldn't it be nice to see this sign on some of our nations perennially failing schools?

2.  Here is a very short, but very informative article on 5 Ways to Be Amazing at Work.  I particularly like #2, as in an educational setting I think we do a great job of identifying problems, but we are not as good at solving problems.

Each of us has the ability to point at the problem, but how many of us have the courage to suggest a solution to the problem?  Moreover, how many of us are prepared to own the solution w suggest?

3. This article from the Harvard Business Review suggests that If You Are Going to Change Your Culture, Do It Quickly!  Not a day goes by that I don't see at least one article dealing with organizational culture in my Twitter feed or some other form of media.  The following quote alone makes reading the article worthwhile: "Once associates started taking ownership of their culture, they started thinking about how they could improve their work, rather than just doing their work."

Kaizen is an important part of our culture at IAS

4.  What is important to parents choosing schools?  This article provides the answers and I do not find them surprising at all.

Thoughts from Atlanta

While on vacation this past weekend I came across some articles you may find interesting.  Hope this finds you all well and enjoying life wherever you may be!

Professor James Tooley and School Choice This link contains Professor Tooley's musings on school choice and the media's reluctance to  address it in the case of Malala Yousafzai--the young lady shot by the Taliban in Pakistan.  Professor Tooley has written two very interesting books I am familiar with: The Beautiful Tree and From Village School to Global Brand: Changing the World Through Education.  Click here for a link to Professor Tooley discussing The Beautiful Tree.  



Center on International Education Benchmarking This link contains many links to interesting articles on education.  I would like to draw your attention to the very last article on the page which contains a link to a report on the Global Teacher Status Index by the Varkey GEMS Foundation.  Surprisingly, this study had Finland ranked behind the USA in regard to respect for the profession which is surprising given Finland's superior performance on the Program for International Student Assessment administered by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.


Flight Not an Option in Public School Wars  This article by Neal McCluskey gets to the heart of the problem: BIG $$$$$ and jobs at stake!

Random Thoughts And Articles On A Thursday

On Monday I had the good fortune to listen to Mike Lipkin, one of North America's preeminent coaches and motivators.  In short, this guy is amazing and I walked away from his presentation thoroughly impressed.  I encourage you to visit his website (click here) when you have the opportunity.

Mike Lipkin--you need to know who he is!

If you are interested in accessing educational data please click here. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is headquartered in Paris and its mission is "is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world."  If you are interested in trends in education around the world, I encourage you to follow the OECD on Twitter @OECD_Edu.

I believe the key to eliminating so many of the problems facing us both domestically and globally is access to a high-quality education.  A recent article in The Economist addresses the issue of gender inequality in education on the continent of Africa.  This is a very short, but enlightening read you can access by clicking here. 




This morning I listened to a great podcast from Harvard Business Review Ideacast.  Erica Ariel Fox, who teaches negotiation at Harvard Law School, discussed how to resolve inner conflict to lead wisely and live well.  If you have ever been told to work smarter, not harder and struggled to grasp the true meaning of this advice, listening to this podcast will help you understand.  For the link to her personal website, please click here.  Below is the cover to her most popular work.

Interesting reading for educators

If you have any interest in why the Chinese tend to score so much higher than the United States on math assessments then you might want to click on this link.  I am looking forward to following this study.  If this subject is of particular interest to you then I suggest you also check out Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.
What makes math instruction more effective in China?



Thomas Friedman suggests that there is no secret to the success of students in Shanghai on the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) examinations.  He credits the "back to the basics" approach and a relentless emphasis on improving instructional practices.
Another view on education in China



Nice article on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and the best way to utilize them in a school setting.
Education and skills using today's technologies



If you are an educator, please read this and post your response so we can have a discussion around this topic.  I am curious to hear what teachers have to say on this subject and would also be interested in the perspective parents would have regarding their experience with their sons in the classroom.
What schools can do to help boys succeed

Some Interesting Links for Wednesday Reading!

Below are five links I think you may find interesting and, hopefully, useful.  The first link is certainly disturbing and is indicative of the moral decay of our nation.  The bottom line is that there are no free lunches--someone always pays, but the people taking advantage of this glitch in the system don't quite get this concept.  The second link is primarily for those in leadership positions or desiring a leadership position.  I believe teachers with Apple products will find the third link beneficial, although they may already have these apps.  The fourth and fifth links address our nation's high schools and what can be done to improve them.  As always, please let me know what you think.  Have a great day!


To find out how far we have slipped as a nation, please click here.

Looking to take your leadership to a new level?  Numbers 2 through 4 will work for school leaders.

Use your iPad or iPhone to make your classroom more effective and efficient!  8 Great apps for the classroom!

What can we do to improve American high schools?  Rethinking High School

It is important ot remind our students that the habits they are developing today matter tomorrow.  Practice College Study Skills During High School