Priced Out of Work

I wander in early to work
Spending days licking boots for my perks
--The Who

Ron Paul relates productivity and wages to his childhood experiences at his grandfather's farm. Kids in the family would pick berries at the farm and get paid based on how many they picked. The more productive a kid was, the more the kid earned.

If Your Productivity Is Less Than The Minimum Wage...

Thank Government For Pricing You Out Of A Job pic.twitter.com/cfWv6yrtVB

— Ron Paul (@RonPaul) March 8, 2019

If the grandfather was forced to pay a minimum wage, then the dynamic may have differed. A mandated wage would have pressured the grandfather to pay some kids less than what they were worth in terms of productivity which, in turn, would have hurt the business. Or, the grandfather would likely consider hiring fewer pickers--i.e., those whose productivity was in line with the mandated wage.

Stated differently, a mandatory minimum wage would have priced some kids out of work.