Exposing the Myths of Minimum Wage

Pearlstein shows us why Max Baucus is a terrible choice for Democratic Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and then he puts the smackdown on the small business crocodile tears over minimum wage hikes.

Steven Pearlstein - Minimum Wage, Maximum Myth - washingtonpost.com:

"Linking the minimum wage to small-business tax breaks is specious for other reasons, as well.

During the last decade, when inflation-adjusted pay of minimum-wage workers was declining, tax rates for small businesses were also declining, thanks largely to the Bush cuts. If it is now imperative to reduce business taxes when the pay of minimum-wage workers is rising, you have to wonder if there will ever be a time when the small-business lobby thinks it doesn't deserve a tax cut.

It's also worth noting that, according to the Internal Revenue Service, small-business owners, sole proprietors and the self-employed are, as a group, the biggest tax cheats in America, responsible for $153 billion of the estimated $345 billion tax gap in 2001. What these folks deserve are more frequent visits from IRS auditors, not more tax breaks."