Letter from a loony

A disgruntled reader sent me an ill-mannered e-mail the other day. Apart from the vitriolic comments it contained, it also had this point to make:

“The people of the CNMI does [sic] not like the idea of increasing the minimum wage because of the economy. Why wasn’t the minimum wage increased when the economy was at it’s [sic] peak a couple of years ago?

“I know why. The business people wanted more money to go into their pocket [sic]. They forgot about their wonderful employees who were making them successful. Instead of sharing their profits with the employees, they spend it unwisely. Now that the economy is doing bad [sic], they want leniency from the U.S.”

This person is obviously an insane socialist with absolutely no regard for justice or private property rights. In the first place, the businessman’s profits belong entirely to himself. He has no moral obligation to “share” his rewards with anyone. He risked his capital. He therefore has every right to reap its full rewards.

The worker only contributes his labor.

When the economy falls and businesses suffer as a result, why is it that the employee never demands a fair share of the losses?

Think of the inherent unfairness and hypocrisy contained in this widespread sentiment. When the economy is strong and business profits are up, the worker feels entirely entitled to his fair share of the gains. But when conditions change for the worse–when profits are down–you don’t see the employee demanding a commensurate cut in wages. Why not?

After all, as the lunatic who e-mailed me already noted, when the economy was strong, the business people “forgot about their wonderful employees who were making them successful.” So now that the economy is weak, why doesn’t this lunatic expect the business people to forget about the despicable employees who are turning them into abject failures?

Whether the economy goes up or down, it does not matter: employees always expect to be paid the same wages or more, never less.

Only the businessman risks total loss. Only the businessman risks total bankruptcy. He risks his capital every single day of the week.

All the worker has to do is show up and go to work.

So if the businessman wants to “spend unwisely,” let him do it. It’s none of our business. After all, it IS his money. Not the employee’s. And certainly not the U.S. federal government’s.