There have been motions from some of the several states for an increase to minimum wage. It is argued, by advocates of the motion, that such a rise in wages will provide individuals the capacity to be financially independent. Although the pursuit is noble, the method for implementing such prosperity is flawed. The apparatus of minimum wage, in actuality, provides a harmful effect to those it is imposed upon, serving only threaten the rights of the individual. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we consider natural\nlaw, it can be seen that man has been given by God the capacity for rational\nthought. As individuals capable of rational thought, men are the proprietors of\ntheir own person and the actions or labor of it. Natural reason would then\npredicate that these decisions are made for the purpose of self-preservation. Thus\nthis state of nature, all of mankind are equal and independent, relying solely\non themselves for preservation and the pursuit of life, liberty, and property,\nso long as he does not violate another\u2019s right to those values. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Man leaves the state of nature and agrees to the social compact of government, some of his powers are transferred to that of the government, whose purpose is the better protection of his rights, but that alone will not sustain him. He must still use his labor to acquire the necessities for self-preservation. Yet because men are rational animals, they are free to decide how their labor will be used, either by themselves or by another. This results in the appearance of contracts and employment, where men are able to alienate their labor to their employer and get an agreed monetary compensation in exchange. Since this compensation does not spoil and has been agreed by all men as having value, one is able to use this compensation to pursue his own values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minimum wage, it is argued, serves as a defensive\nmeasure for an individual to prevent them from being paid less than what would\nbe considered \u201cfair\u201d for their labor. Yet this assumption insults a core\ncomponent of what makes a man what he is: a rational being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If an employer pays an insufficient compensation to\nthe employee for his labor or what he need to survive, that employee may rationally\ndecide to pursue a different job that could adequately support himself. In the\nsame way, an employer can choose not to pay a certain wage for work he does not\nthink is adequate for the agreed level of compensation. Through this reasoning,\nman is also free to return to the state of unemployment, no longer expending\nhis labor for others, and instead use it for his own wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Society is based on rational men voluntarily agreeing social contracts. The use of a minimum wage infringes upon the autonomy of individuals to form their own social contracts. It also extends beyond the founding principles of the greater social compact that is the commonwealth. If the government forces one party to allocate its property, to a certain degree, for the services of another, then it is no longer pursuing and enforcing common welfare but the welfare of some at the expense of others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the government has been created by the consent of the people to protect their rights to life, liberty, and property, for it to then force some people to provide a portion of their own property, in this case monetary, to someone they employ when the labor does not equate the government-demanded compensation is a dangerous overreach of the commonwealths purpose and a violation of the people\u2019s rights to their property. The only proper course of action for the government is to dismantle the apparatus that is minimum wage and let men operate with autonomy with their rights reasonably secured. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There have been motions from some of the several states for an increase to minimum wage. It is argued, by advocates of the motion, that such a rise in wages will provide individuals the capacity to be financially independent. Although … Continue reading