Minimum Wage Retards Growth

The minimum wage should be abolished as it represents unaceptable State meddling with market forces and has contributed to the unemployment rolls for the added financial burden on businesses has meant growth has been hobbled,businesses have had to cut back on hiring staff which means less people in work.It is the height of economic illiteracy to claim that the minimum wage does not have any effect on hiring recruitment levels. The minimum wage was introduced at a relatively low level and as was predicted by its critics has since been raised by stealth.This is the standard practice of legislators who introduced income tax at a low level to minimise dissent and then progressivly and incrementally increased it over time.

The present economic situation would also be ameliorated by repealing other onerous employment legislation relating to matters such as maternity and paternity leave, unfair dismisal and discrimination cases which has had the effect of turning the working environment into an extension of the welfare state, retarding productivity and economic competitiveness.