Liberals have long been used to dominating the narrative in news coverage of wage and poverty-related issues. The liberal perspective, in terms of what policies best represent the interests of workers and the economy as a whole, sometimes goes entirely unchallenged.
A welcome exception to the rule occurred during the June 2 edition of Noticiero Univisión, however, when correspondent Liliana Escalante included the perspectives of a reputable economist and a Latino small business owner, both of whom clearly pointed out the negative, job-killing consequences of legislation in California that would raise that state’s minimum wage from its current $8 to $11 an hour beginning January, 2015.
In her report, Escalante interviewed economist Iván González, who indicated that historically, the minimum wage “has been raised ten times, and ten times it generates for us more unemployment and more inflation. And the most affected are those whom it is supposed we wanted to help.”
As Escalante also noted in the report, unemployment in California, at 7.8%, is already well above the national average. In addition to having nearly two million unemployed residents, the Golden State is also among the most sluggish in the entire nation in terms of job creation, ranking 47th among the 50 states.
The tangible, job-killing effects of the latest liberal policy priorities, such as minimum wage increases and ObamaCare, were underscored by small business owner Rodel Corletto [pictured above] who told Escalante “they want to put ObamaCare, they want us to give them insurance, and so then for salaries there’s not enough.”
“The one who always ends up coming out the worst is the worker,” Corletto concluded, telling Escalante that the net effect of Obamacare and minimum wage mandates leads directly to small businesspeople like him having to let go of employees.
To be sure, the perspective of a community activist and several low-wage workers who favor the proposed minimum wage hike were also included in the report, but at least on this occasion, the economic realities and negative consequences of such policies were clearly spelled out, for viewers to take into consideration.
