Once again, NH Democrats believe that Government has the “wisdom” to determine the economic worth of every wage earner in the State.
NH State Senator Donna Soucy is again making the claim that Government knows better than any employer, owner, manager, and HR folks what a person should be paid. She’s peeved that the NH Senate took her yearly bill on telling business wage check signers what that bottom line should be.
Has she done any real looking around at what entry-level workers ARE earning, thanks to the millions of decisions made in the Marketplace today? Or is this only an “Ideology stand” in making Government in charge of our Economy? Reformatted, emphasis mine:
Senate Democratic Leader Donna Soucy of Manchester has authored legislation every year for the past decade to raise the wage. Her 2022 proposal (SB 203) would have raised the wage to $10 an hour this Sept. 1, to $12 an hour on July 1, 2023 and to $15 hourly on July 1, 2024. “This feels like Groundhog Day all over again,” Soucy said. “I have been debating this bill for a number of years and I won’t stop until we get a change.”
The Senate gave Soucy’s bill a mercy killing Thursday, voting along partisan lines, 13-10, to send it to interim study.
How many of you have seen the Walmart or DHL ads pleading on TV for people to come and work for them? And the per hourly wage is FAR above what Soucy wants (almost $28/hour). Yet, “she persists” and I don’t mean that kindly.
How economically illiterate can one be to see that the Marketplace has already exceeded what the Democrats want, but are still kvetching for it? But she’s not done – here comes the REALLY stupid argument:
Soucy maintained the need for this change became more acute when COVID-19 made all workers reevaluate where they want to live and work. Having a lower minimum wage only makes it more difficult for companies to competitively recruit to get more employees to locate here as the state faces a chronic workforce shortage, Soucy said.
“It is well past time we acknowledge the needs of our constituents and do what is right by them,” Soucy said.
She should be hanging her head in shame if she just bothered to think this through. Does she really believe that companies only use a minimum wage level in hiring and attracting new employees? Note my emphasis in “attracting”; how many companies PROUDLY exclaim “here, pick NH and move here at your own expense, and come work for us at minimum wage!”.
Having been both an employee and an employer, it doesn’t work that way. If you want the best employees, you have to make it economically worth their while. You know, like AOC and the other socialists (and by her trying to have the Government control the Economy is the “tell” that Soucy is one as well).
Companies have to contend with the prevailing wage for any kind of position in a given industry sector. Sure, superstars with lots of experience are going to get far higher wages than entry-level folks that are relatively clueless of what is expected and how to do the job? That’s why there are pay rates in the first place.
And it all comes down to this – what is a person’s economic worth to a company? I was great in being my company’s corporate expert in what I did and was paid well for doing it. I would be miserable in a warehouse setting because I’m older and have back problems – I couldn’t lift the weights that would be expected. I doubt I’d be hired at even entry-level wages as I’d just be too slow. That’s not discrimination, that’s a reasonable estimation of being able to do the work that the company needs done.
Democrats / Socialists believe that everyone is entitled to a job – they aren’t. You have to earn what you get and that’s the thing that sticks in their ideological craws.
Otherwise, let’s call minimum wage what it really is – The government foisting its welfare commitment onto the Private Sector. And her crack about “we acknowledge the needs of our constituents and do what is right by them” shows that I’m spot-on as it shows that there is no difference between someone in her political district and a company employee.
And refusing to acknowledge that how much someone is paid is up to that person. Better to have a private contract between the employer and employee candidate hash that out between themselves.
It all comes down to this – Soucy, if you want to pay higher wages, put your money where your mouth is (and not OTHER peoples’ money). In looking at a number of sites, I see NO evidence of you ever running a business – just one political position after another. Leave other people along.
(H/T: Union Leader)
