"Helped" to Death

Not long after one of my favorite columnists nicely summarized what is wrong with the Obama presidency, another has likewise provided an executive summary of the atrocious results of the past few decades of federal policies supposedly intended to help black Americans. Walter Williams notes, inter alia, what is lost to many black teens as a result of minimum wage laws:

The little bit of money a teenager can earn through after-school, weekend and summer employment is not nearly so important as the other things he gains from early work experiences. He acquires skills and develops good work habits, such as being prompt, following orders and respecting supervisors. In addition, there are the self-respect and pride that a youngster gains from being financially semi-independent. All of these gains from early work experiences are important for any teen but are even more important for black teens. If black teens are going to learn anything that will make them a more valuable employee in the future, they aren't going to learn it from their rotten schools, their dysfunctional families or their crime-ridden neighborhoods. They must learn it on the job. [bold added]

By reading the rest of his piece, you will learn that Williams is hardly blaming everything on minimum wage laws. Indeed, the greatest havoc they wreak lies in compounding the ills caused by other forms of government "aid".

-- CAV