EDITORIAL: HOW EAST CAPE GIRARDEAU BLOSSOMED INTO A GREAT CITY

With the proposed minimum wage increase in Missouri, I'm going to make a few predictions.

If it is passed, look for places like East St. Louis, Western Kansas City and East Cape Girardeau to reap the benefits of one completely stupid Missouri law.

If the proposed minimum wage increase in Missouri is passed you had better bet your life that the once black eye communities like East St. Louis will thrive while the city that caused their existence will crumble because of an ill-thought wage increase designed to reach some form of work force nirvana that can only be achieved through hard work and a free market devoid of price and wage controls.

It's not officially on the ballot, but it most likely will be on the November ballot after the signatures on the petition are verified.

If you would like to see Missouri join the bottom of the list vote for this wage increase. If you wish to be unemployed vote for this wage increase.

If you wish to pay more taxes when feeble minded politicians try to resolve a money shortage at the state's capital caused by the resulting smaller work force with numerous tax increases, vote for this bill.

If you want me to pack up my belongings and move out of Missouri, vote for this wage increase.

But if you want to make more money than the minimum wage you need to vote against it. If you vote for it, you will be unemployed or find yourself commuting back and forth to East Cape Girardeau to your minimum wage job there because there will be no opportunities for you in Missouri, mark my word.

Of course, I have faith in the electorate and I realize that this measure won't pass. Missourians are too smart for that.

The resulting affect on the Missouri economy, when other states aren't playing by the same rules would be disastrous. And that's not even getting into the economic evils of any wage control device mandated by government.

It's funny how we stopped unfunded mandates to the states, but when it comes to unfunded mandates to businesses across this great land the country has said grin it and bare it.

If passed let me be the first to say Missouri meet Mississippi on your way down on the poverty list.

What's more crazy than this proposal is that there are actually people in Missouri that support it.

Here's the proposal: in 1997 minimum wage will be $6.25/hour, it then rises to $6.50 in 1998 and to $6.75 in 1999 and then it will add an additional $.15 an hour for every year thereafter.

By 2014, the minimum wage worker will be making $9 an hour.

It's stupid ideas like these that will make Adam Smith roll over in his grave. Those of you that don't know Adam Smith, do the world and yourself a favor and go read "The Wealth of Nations." Smith wrote it and there once was a time when this country followed the sound economic principles found in the greatest book ever written on the subject of economics.

Here's the problem, for a business to be a success it has to make a profit and if it is mandated to pay a higher rate, less people will be employed or the business will cease to exist or as I predicted earlier, it will move to an area where the demands on business allow it to afford a work force and still stay in business and even make a profit.

That area will be East Cape Girardeau or East St. Louis or Wickliffe, Ky., or any other border town.

Missouri's work force is on its border, 70 percent of the work force works near the border of the state.

You can bet your life, your farm or whatever else if this proposal went through these jobs would no longer be found in Missouri and they would more than likely relocate across the border in Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee, Iowa, Nebraska and Oklahoma and this is a best case scenario.

In the worst case scenario, businesses would just leave the state entirely and not even consider placing businesses in the border towns.

Missouri could get a new motto something catchy to replace "Show Me" like "Hire me!" or "Can't afford to pay you the minimum wage."

Well, maybe someone will think of a better motto for the state of the unemployed.

Instead of "Wake Up to Missouri," you could have "Wage Up in Missouri," or "Fed up in Missouri."

Maybe the state's tourism industry could come up with some catchy slogans to attract tourists, like "Nostalgic for the 1930s? Come to Missouri!"

Or maybe, the state could change the spelling of its name to Misery, and we could boast the nation's highest misery index.

The point is, I know most of you are smart enough to see how terrible this proposed law would be. So, I'm not going to worry about it passing and the state can still be called the "Show Me" state after Election Day.

I just wrote this editorial because stupid ideas need to be brought to light for the shear reason to embarrass the people that thought them up. Don't be stupid, keep Missouri's minimum wage the same as the national rate.

I didn't even mention the effect on the price of goods in the state. You'll end up shopping in border states, when the prices skyrocket in Missouri to allow businesses the money needed to stay in business in Missouri.

There's so much I have left out, but you get the picture, I hope.

Michael Wells is the editor of the Jackson USA Signal