Minimum Wage Fail

Minimum Wage Fail

John Stossel  

AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File

Not long ago, new kinds of jobs appeared: app-based gig work.

They include jobs like dog walking on Rover, Taskrabbit work, DoorDash food delivery, Uber and Lyft driving ...

Lots of people like gig work. It's flexible. You work when you want to work.

But "workers' rights" activists and governing socialists don't like that. Gig workers rarely join unions. They don't get a minimum wage.

"Uber and Lyft exploit their workers" is a headline at MS NOW. "We can't ignore it."

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The Democratic Socialists said they had a solution. Seattle's city council imposed a $26 delivery driver minimum wage.

What could go wrong?

Two years later, we know the answer: Gig workers make no more money, but prices went up.

Apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats added a $5 fee for consumers "to help cover the costs of these ... regulations."

Now Seattle residents complain about prices. "I ordered a $12 sandwich ... $12 grew to $32!" complains one in my new video. "I just deleted the app."

"(Work) has become slow because of the new law," app drivers complain. DoorDash got 1.7 million fewer Seattle orders.

This is what happens when politicians dictate wages.

"Obviously, when you're increasing cost to businesses, you're going to increase costs to customers," says economics professor Judge Glock. "These are unimaginably complicated markets where the company's main job is interfacing between restaurants (SET ITAL)and(END ITAL) delivery workers (SET ITAL)and(END ITAL) customers. Then you have an economically illiterate city council or mayor who thinks, basically by looking at an industry through reading the news, they can appropriately regulate the exact wage."

Former Seattle City Council President Sara Nelson admits that the politicians made a mistake: "We created a problem and it's our responsibility to fix it."

They repealed the harmful law?

No.

Nelson said they just needed to adjust their numbers: "If we had gotten the minimum pay standard right, we would not see the decline in the revenue."

Such conceit! Somehow, the political class knows exactly what every worker should be paid.

Price controls never work.

Flexible pricing does.

Competition forces businesses to constantly adjust pay and prices to attract workers and customers.

When smug politicians think they can set a price that's "right," "it's just patently absurd," says Glock. "You're not going to have any improved well-being for people, and you're not going to have increased wages for those workers."

A similar minimum wage increase failed in New York City, after politicians guaranteed app-based drivers an hourly minimum of about $20.

"The decrease in tips and increased competition for jobs offset all of the gains from that imposed minimum wage," says Glock. "It's this continual whack-a-mole tendency. The market responds, [so politicians] pass a new regulation to try to prevent that response. They think the next regulation will somehow squelch the greed out of the system, but there's simply no way to do that."

Competition is the only good way to decide what people get paid.

"A lot of politicians believe there's a free lunch or a fixed pot of money that they can give out to the neediest people." says Glock. "The actual effect was not to improve the well-being of workers, but to increase costs for customers and sabotage one of the most successful businesses in the city."

https://townhall.com/columnists/johnstossel/2026/06/24/minimum-wage-fail-n2678180?utm_source=thdailypmvip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl&utm_content=ncl-H7erefEThm&utm_term=&_nlid=H7erefEThm&_nhids=ncgMnc5WhDQnls

Turns Out USAID Funding May Have Caused a Lot of Death and Destruction

Turns Out USAID Funding May Have Caused a Lot of Death and Destruction

Amy Curtis  

     

AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

After Ro Khanna accused Elon Musk of killing 4.5 million children with DOGE-led USAID cuts, only to fold like a cheap shirt after Musk threatened a defamation suit, someone decided to use the study Khanna cited as his source to see how many deaths USAID funding caused.

Guess what. It's a lot.

The entire post reads:

The USAID Mortality Multiplier: A Counterfactual Analysis of Regime-Enabled Excess Deaths, 2001–2025

We apply fixed-effects Poisson regression to panel data from the 133 countries in the original Lancet study. Our key independent variable is annual USAID disbursements per capita. We control for the usual suspects — GDP, literacy, doctors per thousand — but add one critical covariate the original paper omitted: an index of left-wing governance strength, scored from 0 to 1 based on the proportion of cabinet positions held by self-identified socialists, communists, or Peronists during each year.

The model reveals a robust positive association: each additional dollar of USAID per capita is associated with 47.3 excess deaths per 100,000 population under left-wing administrations. Using the same microsimulation framework as the Lancet paper, we project that USAID’s total spending from 2001 to 2025 enabled approximately 187 million excess deaths, of which 68 million were children under five.

Our counterfactual — what if USAID had never existed? — shows that 68 million kids would still be alive today.

The confidence intervals are wide, the causal assumptions are heroic, and the governance index is completely made up. But hey, it matches their methods exactly.

Excellent work.

Even Musk took note.

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Their own logic.

Yes, it is all complete BS. But it helps advance the narrative, so they run with it.

Looking at you, Ro Khanna.

See, this is a two-way street. One study can claim DOGE cuts led to 4.5 million deaths, but applying that same methodology shows that USAID funding may have led to ten times as many deaths. For some reason, we doubt the same people citing the first study will be eager to talk about the second set of numbers.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/amy-curtis/2026/06/24/usaid-deaths-n2678213?utm_source=thdailypmvip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl&utm_content=ncl-nTQ5gc39DD&utm_term=&_nlid=nTQ5gc39DD&_nhids=ncgMnc5WhDQnls

'Better Than Sex' — Senate Passes Sweeping Pro-Homeowner Bill in Win for Trump By Bob Hoge | 1:37 PM on June 23, 2026The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of RedState.com. Home Sweet Home. (Credit: Julian Hochgesang) The Senate passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Monday, a broad effort to lower the cost of homeownership and level the playing field by limiting the impact of institutional investors in the residential real estate market. The Trump-backed plan, which won in a bipartisan vote of 85-5, now heads to the House of Representatives. As housing costs explode across the nation, the bill aims to prevent America from becoming a “nation of renters.” Loaded with nearly 60 different provisions, the package broadly tackles rolling back some permitting regulations, launches several pilot grant programs to build, repair and push affordable housing construction, and blocks investors from buying up housing stock — a key provision pushed by Trump. It’s rare to see Trump side with the far-left Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, but in this case, they’re on the same side: Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., one of the architects of the package, said the legislation was "not the federal government big footing local government," but instead the federal government laying out tweaks to current programs and policies that "over time will make housing more affordable." "This is a housing package that will help increase supply and bring down costs," Warren said. "One way is by beating back private equity, so they won't invade your neighborhood, buy up all the houses, and turn America into a nation of renters." Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) presided over the vote: Last night, I presided over the Senate as we passed the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. This landmark legislation includes my Helping More Families Save Act which will expand participation in the @HUDgov Family Self Sufficiency Program. Proud to see this bill to help move families off of government assistance and toward economic independence head to the House and then the President’s desk. Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) supports the measure: RELATED: Making Homeownership Great Again: Trump Has Bold Idea to Make American Dream Affordable Trump Scores Big New Win: House Approves Revised Housing Bill There are a number of provisions in the bill designed to fire up the homebuilding engine: The package also tries to turbocharge housing stock by tying federal grants and incentives sought by local governments to housing construction. And there are tweaks to mortgages, with a push for small-dollar mortgages at $100,000 and updates to lending standards for manufactured homes. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, whose provision to establish pre-approved housing designs to speed up home construction made it into the package, said the legislation "sends a signal to state and local communities, to say, ‘Hey, guys, you really have to drive down the cost of housing, and you do that by not torturing homebuilders.’" Although the bill garnered wide bipartisan support, some lawmakers like Rep. Chip Roy (TX-21) consider it a pork-laden socialist measure. “The Housing bill is full of big government garbage & spending,” he wrote on X on Monday. The most significant part of the bill, in my view, however, is the provisions that restrain large private equity firms from buying up family homes and driving up rents. Many economists believe this trend is a driving factor in killing the American dream of homeownership. All I know is that it pains me to see so many young people, including my own kids as they enter adulthood, seeing no path to homeownership any time soon because starter homes in many cities start at a million bucks — nearly triple the number from 2020. Homeownership is one of the keys to building healthy communities and families, and yet for all too many, it remains but a dream. Time will tell whether this bill can help bring it back to reality. The measure is expected to pass the House and soon head to the president’s desk.

'Better Than Sex' — Senate Passes Sweeping Pro-Homeowner Bill in Win for Trump

By Bob Hoge  

    

Home Sweet Home. (Credit: Julian Hochgesang)

The Senate passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Monday, a broad effort to lower the cost of homeownership and level the playing field by limiting the impact of institutional investors in the residential real estate market. The Trump-backed plan, which won in a bipartisan vote of 85-5, now heads to the House of Representatives.

As housing costs explode across the nation, the bill aims to prevent America from becoming a “nation of renters.”

Loaded with nearly 60 different provisions, the package broadly tackles rolling back some permitting regulations, launches several pilot grant programs to build, repair and push affordable housing construction, and blocks investors from buying up housing stock — a key provision pushed by Trump.

It’s rare to see Trump side with the far-left Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, but in this case, they’re on the same side:

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., one of the architects of the package, said the legislation was "not the federal government big footing local government," but instead the federal government laying out tweaks to current programs and policies that "over time will make housing more affordable."

"This is a housing package that will help increase supply and bring down costs," Warren said. "One way is by beating back private equity, so they won't invade your neighborhood, buy up all the houses, and turn America into a nation of renters."

Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) presided over the vote:

Last night, I presided over the Senate as we passed the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act.

This landmark legislation includes my Helping More Families Save Act which will expand participation in the @HUDgov Family Self Sufficiency Program.

Proud to see this bill to help move families off of government assistance and toward economic independence head to the House and then the President’s desk.

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) supports the measure:

---

RELATED: Making Homeownership Great Again: Trump Has Bold Idea to Make American Dream Affordable

Trump Scores Big New Win: House Approves Revised Housing Bill

---

There are a number of provisions in the bill designed to fire up the homebuilding engine:

The package also tries to turbocharge housing stock by tying federal grants and incentives sought by local governments to housing construction. And there are tweaks to mortgages, with a push for small-dollar mortgages at $100,000 and updates to lending standards for manufactured homes.

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, whose provision to establish pre-approved housing designs to speed up home construction made it into the package, said the legislation "sends a signal to state and local communities, to say, ‘Hey, guys, you really have to drive down the cost of housing, and you do that by not torturing homebuilders.’"

Although the bill garnered wide bipartisan support, some lawmakers like Rep. Chip Roy (TX-21) consider it a pork-laden socialist measure. “The Housing bill is full of big government garbage & spending,” he wrote on X on Monday.

The most significant part of the bill, in my view, however, is the provisions that restrain large private equity firms from buying up family homes and driving up rents. Many economists believe this trend is a driving factor in killing the American dream of homeownership.

All I know is that it pains me to see so many young people, including my own kids as they enter adulthood, seeing no path to homeownership any time soon because starter homes in many cities start at a million bucks — nearly triple the number from 2020. Homeownership is one of the keys to building healthy communities and families, and yet for all too many, it remains but a dream. Time will tell whether this bill can help bring it back to reality.

The measure is expected to pass the House and soon head to the president’s desk.

https://redstate.com/bobhoge/2026/06/23/better-than-sex-senate-passes-sweeping-pro-homeowner-bill-in-win-for-trump-n2203632?utm_source=rsafternoonbriefingvip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl

Dysphoria and Dysfunction Are Displayed, From Reflecting Pool Algae Distemper to Disturbing Tesla Reports

Dysphoria and Dysfunction Are Displayed, From Reflecting Pool Algae Distemper to Disturbing Tesla Reports

Brad Slager  

Townhall Media

Get access to Brad Slager's "Riffed From the Headlines," a daily VIP feature where he looks to bring accountability to the mainstream media. Use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership!

Race to the Bottom – THE ATLANTIC

• It is to the point that anything we don’t like can be connected to slavery!

Several figures in the media can be relied upon to make ANYTHING being discussed into a rant about race. Joy Reid was always the flag bearer. Eddie Glaude cannot refrain from the temptation. And another seemingly afflicted with the racial Tourette's Syndrome is Jemele Hill.

Jemele’s issue, however, is that by starting from the standpoint of anything being racist, she rarely thinks through her claims, and often ends up appearing entirely unfamiliar with specifics while talking like an authority. Take, for instance, the recent time she told people in the interior states they did not have to worry about immigrants coming into their areas because…um, people willing to cross our national border are incapable of crossing state lines???

In a similar fashion, Ms. Hill was a guest on CNN and declared boldly that the reason Kamala Harris was not elected was due to the Electoral College, and that Federalism voting concept was installed to appease slave owners. At the risk of white-splaining, the EC was developed by our Founders (many of whom were anti-slavery) to protect smaller states from being overruled by larger population centers. 

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As for litigating the 2016 election, that is something we have been told is election denialism, and a grievous political sin.

Artisanally-Crafted Narratives – CNN

• We are sorry, but as segues go this was like a Mack Truck making a U-turn through a T-ball baseball diamond.

On the same panel from Abby Phillip’s nightly roundtable carp-fest, Ana Navarro made what must be the most abrupt change of topics in a discussion ever witnessed. Try not to get whiplash, as she is talking about the reflecting pool algae “scandal”, and then somehow leaps to people should be jailed over the Epstein files – in mid-sentence. There is no connective tissue between these topics, and she skips ahead to Epstein like you sat on the remote and accidently hit the CHAPTER button.

Low-Octane Gaslighting – MS NOW

• Somehow, Trump took something away from the people that they were never permitted to do.

The Reflecting Pool algae blooms has the media so spun out that we almost tire of covering them do ing so – and yet, they keep outdoing themselves. For the latest we turn to MS NOW, where on the dimming show “The Weeknight” (they should really go with “weak”), guest Cornell Belcher was upset because he says children can no longer “splash around” in the reflecting pool, but now the Trump administration will arrest children who do so.

Small problem: People were never allowed to “splash around” in the Reflecting Pool, even though Cornell says he was able to do so as a kid.

Reporting on the Mirror – THE INDEPENDENTS

• Refusing to play after being cut from the team is a grand look, Tucker.

We are not sure what broke Tucker Carlson and led him to become an anti-Semitic, contrarian, and pro-Qatar voice. (Ah! That must be it - the Qatari chsh flow!)

Whatever happened, most sane conservatives have stopped listening to Tucker some time ago. He has become rather unhinged.

But today he has come out to announce that he is done with the Republican Party!

This comes not only as the opposite of “a shock”, but we are more than certain that the party had moved on from him some time ago. But, okay Tucker, good luck on…your already in-place separation.

News Avoidance Syndrome – VARIOUS OUTLETS

• One would think getting word from the experts here would be critical, no?

The three network news broadcasts, as well as many other ancillary outlets, have reported on the Tesla crash into a home in Houston. There was one fatality inside the residence, and the driver who survived claims the vehicle was in self-driving mode.

Most all reports cite this claim, and often lend expanded commentary about the dangers this provides, but there is little to be heard from Elon Musk or the company.

Well, he and another tech at the company have made disqualifying comments, and it will be interesting to see if there are any corrections or updated reports to be made.