Many people might agree American wages are too low. But an economist argues simply raising wages is not the solution.
Instead, University of Maryland economist Peter Morici says we have to raise the quality of graduates coming out of U.S. colleges and high schools.
He says, "According to the liberal narrative, businesses are too tightfisted and exploiting ordinary workers and women. Simply mandating higher pay — for example, by raising the minimum wage and adopting a national variant of California's Fair Pay Act — will miraculously increase family incomes, spending and growth…The more fundamental problem is American workers increasingly don't have the skills to work in the new digital economy."
Too many young people — whether they went to college or not — are not prepared for much more than serving coffee, says Morici. They major in social sciences and humanities, which, he says, will not lead to jobs in medicine, finance or the new career opportunities being created by the digital economy.
To read more, go to the AJC Get Schooled blog.
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