The effects of a minimum wage increase was researched recently by the federal government. Guess what they found out? (Hint: You'll think you'd heard it here before.)

Apparently, after 3 days performing what amounts to an "armed sit-in", the 20 white guys holed up in a remote, Oregon wildlife preserve visitors center were did not have the National Guard descend on them due to ... wait for it ... racism. You know, the same National Guard that weren't summoned to Ferguson, MO for 9 days.

And can you describe the difference between a Democrat and a Socialist? Apparently, the front-runner for the Democrats in the Presidential race can't.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqq5q11uK0M

Mentioned links:

MP Graphics Facebook page

Hiking Minimum Wage an Inefficient Tool to Fight Poverty: Fed Research

The Effects of Minimum Wages on Employment

Armed men, led by Bundy brothers, take over federal building in rural Oregon

Timeline of events in Ferguson

WaPo Columnist Claims Racial Double Standards In Oregon Standoff

Video: Matthews discovers that Hillary can’t tell the difference between Democrats and socialists, either

Show transcript

Increasing the minimum wage is an inefficient way to reduce poverty. Raising the minimum wage has only limited benefits in the war against poverty, due in part because relatively few of those falling below the poverty line actually receive the wage. Many of the benefits from raising the wage tend to go to higher-income families. Research that shows raising wages kills jobs through higher costs to employers.

That’s not me talking, although I have said as much in previous shows, so I can understand the confusion. No, that’s David Neumark, a professor of economics and director of the Center for Economics and Public Policy at the University of California, Irvine. He researched the minimum wage for the San Francisco Federal Reserve, and these are his conclusions.

So now we have an arm of the federal government, doing its own research, and coming to these conclusions. Can we put this issue to bed now? Well, no, we can’t. There’s too much politics smeared all over this, and too many people with entrenched ideas and too many axes to grind.

What he does suggest for combating poverty is enhancing the Earned Income Tax Credit, which targets poor families, rather than poor workers. Some poor families have no workers, so a minimum wage increase doesn’t affect them, and a single worker may be supporting just him- or herself, or a family of 6.

Anyway, if you want more info, or a link to share with your social media peeps, it’s in the show notes at the web site. I’m hopeful that this might change some minds, but hold not thy breath.

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A group of armed anti-government activists, about 20, occupied the visitor’s center at a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon, vowing to occupy the outpost for years to protest the federal government’s treatment of a pair of local ranchers set to report to prison. I’m not going to get into the reasons behind what they did; I think they generally in the wrong, and even the family they are supporting with this protest ...