A New York Times piece crossed my desk a couple of

days ago and it seems to see as much down as up-side. NYT writers Jim

Tankersley and Emily Cochrane refer to a new report by the Congressional Budget

Office, so I guess that says it all—people with no skin in the game making

judgements.

It’s bullshit, but we’ll take it a

step at a time.

What happens if there’s a $15 minimum wage? The report

projects:

• Higher pay for at least 17

million workers in the U.S., and maybe as many 27 million. Maybe? That’s a

pretty wide spread, 8% of the entire population.

• As many as 1.3 million people

lifted out of poverty. What’s goin’ on with the numbers here? 47 million

Americans live below the poverty line. You can pretty well be that all

of them are making less, way less, than $15 an hour.

• But an estimated 1.3 million

Americans could be put out of work, and that figure could be as high as 3.7

million. Out of work? Explain that to me.

I remember that not all that long

ago the experts told us that if gas hit $1.50 a gallon the economy could

collapse. We’re paying twice that now and rolling along just fine. Pigs could

fly as some will tell you, but don’t bet on it.

(NYT) “Lower-paid workers would

see their incomes rise, mostly at the expense of business owners, who would

earn lower profits because of increased labor costs, and other higher-earning

Americans, who would pay more for goods and services. The economy would be slightly smaller than it would have

otherwise been, because of lost efficiency.”

Let’s parse that.

Lower-paid workers would see

their incomes rise.

Okay, sounds good to me and wonderful

for them. And what would those lower paid workers do with that added

income? What the Wal-Marts and Amazons of the so-called business community

don’t seem to get through their thick heads is that 47 million Americans would love

to replace their old dying fridge, buy a newer used car and maybe, just maybe,

buy some clothes that aren’t hand-me-downs.

Mostly at the expense of

business owners, who would earn lower profits because of increased labor costs…

As per above, just how

would business owners suffer lower profits, with 47 million brand new

consumers?

…and other higher-earning

Americans, who would pay more for goods and services.

Yep, that’s true. That’s what

always happens when wages rise, but we got out of that habit about forty years

ago. And they’d be just fine, as they are now just fine with

three-dollar gas.

The economy would be slightly

smaller than it would have otherwise been, because of lost efficiency.

It’s efficient to have

poorly paid workers? Not only does that statement denigrate the poor, it’s

demonstrably false. Higher paid, motivated workers are always more

efficient. That’s the engine upon which this nation was built (in the days when

it still built things, instead of consuming the cheapest of the cheap).

(NYT again, winding up) The results are “likely to fuel

both supporters and critics of a House bill. Representative Steny H. Hoyer of

Maryland, the majority leader, said in a letter to Democrats that the

legislation would be considered next week, signaling that the House leadership

felt confident in its ability to secure enough votes to pass the measure.”

Ah, now we’re talking about pigs

flying again.

They probably will be able

to pass such legislation, although it’s doubtful because Democrats are always

doubtful.

But it’s dead-on-arrival in the Senate, because

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell won’t possibly let it come to the floor

for a vote.

All of which proves that, under

certain circumstances, pigs can fly.

There is no greater pig in

Washington than Mitch McConnell and he’s flying high as a kite, while

America swings in the wind and the Senate continues to fail its Constitutional

duty under his leadership.

Don’t blame the New York Times, they’re just

reporting the report.