The Racist Roots of Minimum Wage Laws
8th February 2017
Walter Williams, a Real Economist, points the finger.
Our nation’s first minimum wage law, the Davis-Bacon Act of 1931, had racist motivation.
During its legislative debate, its congressional supporters made such statements as, “That contractor has cheap colored labor that he transports, and he puts them in cabins, and it is labor of that sort that is in competition with white labor throughout the country.”
During hearings, American Federation of Labor President William Green complained, “Colored labor is being sought to demoralize wage rates.”
Today’s stated intentions behind the support of minimum wages are nothing like yesteryear’s. However, intentions are irrelevant. In the name of decency, we must examine the effects.