Saturday, July 21, 2012 | 2:02 a.m.
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In Wednesday’s Sun, Ann Michaud presents a well-reasoned discussion of the problems that arise when teens can’t get entry-level jobs, like bagging groceries. Her final paragraph summarizes the results of entry-level jobs well: “When teens work, it teaches them independence, responsibility, a good work ethic and how to get along with others. Our collective future depends on investing in their success.”
Michaud discusses several potential remedies, including apprenticeships and providing tax credits to employers for hiring low-income youth.
She fails, however, to say anything about the minimum wage, either as a factor in the creation of the problem or as a remedy. Small business proprietors would hire many more teens if the minimum wage weren’t so prohibitive. I suggest that the teen unemployment situation would improve dramatically if the minimum wage were slashed by 50 or 75 percent.
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