Democrats think they can win the messaging battle this campaign season by shifting focus from their horrendous Obamacare to raising the minimum wage.  This ground won’t prove too fertile for them either.  A minimum wage roundtable meeting here in Denver lead by deputy administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor’s wage and hour division Laura Fortman turned to the absurd when Marilyn Megenity, owner of Mercury tossed out this gem:

“Business owners say they can’t afford it,” Megenity said. “But they can raise their prices, and that’s what needs to happen.” [the Peak emphasis]

That, kids, is what we call inflation.  Don’t know about it?  Ask your parents.  It’s what crippled the American economy for a better part of the 1970s, and keeping it under control has been one of the main objectives of the Federal Reserve System ever since.

Megenity is right, nothing happens in a vacuum.  If a higher minimum wage is set, business will either cut employment or pass the higher costs on to consumers in the form of higher prices.  The person making minimum wage might make a little more, which they can turn around and use to pay the higher prices.  Purchasing power remains the same, but liberals feel better as they feed a $20 into a machine for a Coke soy, non-fat, grass-fed, agave-enriched, herbal-sparkling, from unicorn teats, bottled water.

But don’t paint us as callous, PeakNation™, we really do want to see the average-Joe working at McDonalds making almost $20 bucks an hour.  That is why we fully applaud what is going on in North Dakota right now, where a booming economy has forced employers to raise wages in order to stay competitive in hiring.  At McDonalds, they are offering a $300 signing bonus just to start work, while at Walmart, the starting wage is $17 an hour.

Offering to legislate a higher minimum wage is just slapping a new coat of paint on an already busted system.  If you really want real wage growth, grow the economy, Stupid.