[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 72 (Friday, June 5, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1052]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IMPACT OF MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE

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                            HON. JAY DICKEY

                              of arkansas

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, June 5, 1998

  Mr. DICKEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring to the attention of my 
colleagues the wise remarks of Mr. Leo Collins in the following article 
which appeared in the Pine Bluff Commercial. As a former small business 
owner myself, I understand and believe the comments made by Mr. 
Collins. Another increase in the minimum wage will have a negative 
impact on jobs, especially jobs for teenagers. Increases in the minimum 
wage lead employers to cut back on work hours and training. 
Unfortunately, low-skilled teenage workers will be the first to be 
affected. Combining the cutback of hours and training with the loss of 
job opportunities, this means that many youths are prevented from 
reaching the first rung on the ladder of success.

                    [From the Pine Bluff Commercial]

                  To Overcome Means Accepting Reality

                            (By Leo Collins)

       I became acquainted with a young Nigerian male some years 
     ago who was fortunate to be one of a few chosen by his 
     government to be given the opportunity to study and attend 
     school in America.
       He thought himself special and could not understand why so 
     many Americans, particularly young blacks, did not pursue an 
     education in an aggressive way since education was so 
     accessible.
       This young man was my roommate one summer while I was in 
     graduate school. He asked me one day, ``Why is it that blacks 
     in America who will not take full advantage of an education, 
     continue to blame other racial groups for their own personal 
     failures?'' I had no concrete answer.
       He said, since he had been in America, it seems that every 
     other race of people tend to overcome poverty except blacks. 
     Other groups, he said, tend to take full and complete 
     advantage of public schools, educational grants and low 
     interest college student loans.
       Every other group, other than American blacks--he implied--
     tend to develop a bond between themselves not too much unlike 
     a mother and a new born child. He added that American blacks 
     either do not like each other or they do not trust each 
     other.
       I had to tell him at that point that even though he is a 
     Nigerian, his ancestors have never been enslaved. I told him 
     that all of the other racial groups he sees came to America 
     on their own accord. They didn't come, I told him, in the 
     belly of slave ships and once here, sold on an auction block 
     as chattel to the highest bidder.
       I did not want him to go back to his native Nigeria with 
     his knowledge bucket half full and half empty. I insisted 
     that he fully understand that the black experience was unique 
     only to blacks in America. He needs to fully understand that 
     there is nothing in the annals of world history to compare 
     that experience with; therefore, he shouldn't try to make a 
     simple analogy when he returns to his native homeland.
       Even today, blacks have not gotten completely away from the 
     yoke of suppression. Too many are still seeking a solution to 
     their economic, social and political woes outside of their 
     own ranks. Many seemingly seek ways to generate failure. They 
     do so by dropping out of school, defying authoritative 
     symbols, joining street gangs, resisting parental guidance, 
     etc.
       Blacks tend to keep the memory of slavery alive by doing to 
     themselves exactly what the old slave masters of a bygone era 
     did to them; that being, denying themselves the opportunity 
     to develop the most important human organ: their minds.
       Today, there is a great demand for all kinds of workers. 
     Employers cannot find enough workers. But do you know who 
     still cannot find work? I'll tell you; 9.6 percent of current 
     unemployed Americans are black. Out of nearly 6 million 
     unemployed, 600,000 are black. Is this because of racism? 
     Some of it may be, but the bulk of it isn't.
       Blacks are not getting the technical training needed in 
     today's job market. Dropping out of school in the ninth grade 
     doesn't prepare you for much other than membership in a 
     street gang and a short life span.
       Blacks must learn to bond with each other and stay in 
     school. Being dumb is not being cool; it's being stupid. 
     Minimum wage, as benevolent as it is, is only another crutch 
     aimed at pacifying black Americans that there is no need to 
     rush to help yourself. Uncle Sugar will guarantee you a 
     marginal lifestyle.
       Blacks should develop their skills. Minimum wage laws do 
     nothing but pacify the conscience of whites who support it 
     and sedate the minds of blacks who accept it. Minimum wage is 
     not a panacea for high school dropouts.

     

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