He’s under So-Crates in the history books.

Socrates: So you want to raise the minimum wage. Why?

Congressman: Because as Sen. Ted Kennedy pointed out, minimum wage workers haven’t had a raise in 10 years.

Socrates: Can you name one single worker who was making $5.15 an hour a decade ago and who is still making $5.15 today? And if you can’t, then please tell me what caused their wage to rise if Congress didn’t do it. Come on, can you name just one?

Congressman: Well, no, but they must be out there somewhere. In any event, $5.15 just isn’t enough for anybody to live on. Workers must have more to meet their basic needs.

Socrates: An employer doesn’t have anything to pay an employee except what he first gets from paying customers. I wonder, whose “needs” do you consider when you decide to buy or not to buy — the workers’ or your own? Have you ever offered to pay more than the asking price just to help out the guy who made the product?

Congressman: That’s not a fair question. My intent here is purely to help.

...

Socrates: Then why on earth would you favor a law that says if a worker can’t find a job that pays at least $7.25 per hour, he’s not allowed to work?

Congressman: I’m not saying he can’t work! I’m saying he can’t be paid less than $7.25!

Socrates: I thought we were making progress, but perhaps not. Can you tell me, if your scheme becomes law, what happens to a worker who is worth only $6.00 because of his low skills, lack of education, scant experience or a low demand for the work itself? Will employers happily employ him anyway and take a $1.25 loss for every hour he’s on the job?

Read the whole thing.

Wasn’t Socrates a Blogger?