The dust is starting to settle on 'Decision 2006'.

Who is going to turn out to be the big winners and losers? It's still too early to tell, but the newly crowned democrats are tripping over themselves to raise minimum wage. That will only serve to slow down the strongest economy in the history of the world.

When I was in high school, I was all about the raise in minimum wage, but that was a long time ago.. and it was a very selfish view point.

First off, how many people do you know that are older than 20 that still earn minimum wage? If it's anyone you know, tell them to go back to school, get a real skill, and get a real job.

Working for minimum wage is good when you are in high school, or maybe even college, but if you are still making that amount, you need to look within yourself, not to the government, to better your financial standing.

Learn a skill, work in a factory, basically, make yourself more marketable.

People get paid what they are worth.

A lot of people complain that athletes and celebrities make too much, but I say, if someone is willing to pay it, they are worth it.

To those who say athletes are paid too much, and that teachers should get more (I agree that teachers are grossly underpaid) I say this: 'As soon as 50,000+ people show up and pay $50+ to watch you work, then you can complain that you aren't getting paid enough.'

Well, I kind of got off on a tangent, but what it comes down to, is that less than 2% of the population make minimum wage (according to the department of Labor estimates that 2 million Americans earn minimum wage, and we all heard the reports of the 300 millionth American a few weeks ago). Raising minimum wage will only increase the operating expenses, which will result in one of 2 things happening.. small businesses will go out of business because they can't afford to pay the high school help more than $5.15/hour, or they will pass the higher costs on to their customers, causing all of us to pay more for our goods and services.

It's just another example on why a vast majority of the unions in this country are just dead weight in the economy. Take a look at the industries that are dominated by union labor.. how are they doing? (I'll give you a hint.. the automotive and airline industries)

I'm not one to say 'Write to your Congressperson', but if you are so inclined, it won't be a bad idea.


As always, I encourage your thoughts and comments on this or any other topics.