If Increasing Income Equality Is The Goal,

In The Four Decades After World War Ii, Manufacturing Jobs Paid More Than Other Jobs For Given Skills. But That Is Much Less True Today. Increased International Competition Has Forced American Manufacturers To Reduce Costs. As A Result, The Pay Premium For Low-skilled Workers In Manufacturing Is Smaller Than It Once Was.

If Every Other Store In Town Is Paying Workers $9 An Hour, One Offering $8 Will Find It Hard To Hire Anyone - Perhaps Not When Unemployment Is High, But Certainly In Normal Times. Robust Competition Is A Powerful Force Helping To Ensure That Workers Are Paid What They Contribute To Their Employers' Bottom Lines.

As A Former Member Of President Obama's Economic Team, I Have A Soft Spot For The Fiscal Stimulus Legislation He Signed Just A Month After His Inauguration.

If Increasing Income Equality Is The Goal, It Might Be Wiser To Put Money Into Infrastructure Than To Subsidize Manufacturing. Construction Also Pays Good Wages, But With Lower Educational Requirements. And America's Infrastructure Needs Are Enormous.

Raising The Minimum Wage, As President Obama Proposed In His State Of The Union Address, Tends To Be More Popular With The General Public Than With Economists.