[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 64 (Thursday, May 9, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H4660]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               IT IS A MISTAKE TO RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE

  (Mr. SMITH of Michigan asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, we have been talking about 
minimum wage and the desirability for low-income wage earners to earn 
more money. Of course, it is right. Raising low wages appeals to the 
sense of decency and compassion of Americans. But it would be a 
mistake.
  We have a system of allocating resources in this country called the 
free enterprise system. It has worked very well for this country. It 
has made ours the greatest country on Earth. Increasing the minimum 
wage would impose significant costs primarily on unskilled Americans 
because the minimum wage is going to deprive some of those Americans 
from access to an entry-level job.
  I ask the liberal labor union bosses if they are sure this is the way 
they want America to go. If employers cannot afford to pay the increase 
in minimum wage, then what are they going to do? They are either going 
to go out of business or they are going to respond by reducing hours, 
reducing benefits or paying less frequently.
  In conclusion, I want to give my colleagues a quote from George 
Washington, a great man. George Washington said:

       If, to please the people, we offer what we ourselves 
     disapprove, how can we afterward defend our work? Let us 
     raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair. The 
     rest is in the hands of God.

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