When President Biden leaned into the microphone last week and creepily whispered, “Pay them more,” when talking about how to get workers back to work, I was reminded of former Democratic Senator George McGovern. He was one of the most liberal members of the Senate and was beaten soundly by President Richard Nixon in 1972. He, like President Biden, spent his entire career in Washington, D. C. in elected office. The current president could learn something from the former Senator and presidential nominee.
The former presidential candidate and Senator who spent his life in politics (sound familiar?) and then went into business after he retired and learned many of the things he championed “for the worker” throughout his career actually made it harder to hire people and harder to be successful in business. He famously wrote about it in the Wall Street Journal in 1992.
In the United Kingdom, they have a training wage and that is really what we should call the minimum wage. The market should determine wages and good work should be rewarded as time goes on.
Sen. George McGovern said in his piece that if he had known how difficult he had made it for people to start and maintain a business, he would have voted against many of the things he supported throughout his career. President Joe Biden should take a page from McGovern’s advice. He has never run a business, at least that he has admitted to except as it relates to being paid for his influence in the years between being Vice President and running for president. In addition, he doesn’t have the people around him that understand how the economy works for small business and how small business employs most Americans. It is important.
