Good Intentions 2of3 Minimum Wage, Licensing, and Labor Laws with Walter Williams

Walter Williams' PBS documentary Good Intentions based on his book, The State Against Blacks (1982). The documentary was very controversial at the time it was released and led to many animosities and even threats of murder.

In Good Intentions, Dr. Williams examines the failure of the war on poverty and the devastating effect of well meaning government policies on blacks asserting that the state harms people in the U.S. more than it helps them. He shows how government anti-poverty programs have often locked people into poverty making the points that:

- being forced to attend 3rd rate public schools leave students unprepared for working life
- minimum wages prevent young people from obtaining jobs at an early age
- licensing and labor laws have had the effect of restricting entrance of blacks into the skilled trades and unions
- the welfare system creates perverse incentives for the poor to make bad choices they otherwise would not

Dr. Williams presents the following solutions to these problems:

Failing Public Schools - Give parents greater control over their children's education by setting up a tuition tax credit or voucher system to broaden competition in turn revitalizing both public and non-public schools

Minimum Wages - Remove the minimum wage from youngsters to give more young people the chance to learn the world of work at an early age instead spending their free time idle an possibly falling into the habits of the street

Restrictive Labor Laws, Jobs Programs - Eliminate government roadblocks that prevent new entrepreneurs from starting their own business

Welfare Programs - Enact a compassionate welfare system such as a negative income tax which would remove dependency and dis-incentives for the poor to get themselves out of poverty

Scholars interviewed in the documentary include Donald Eberle, Charles Murray, and George Gilder.

Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1r-r6iLBEI&feature=channel_page
Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DS0XXFdyfI&feature=channel_page
Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqMuLNWL_Qo&feature=channel_page

Playlist:
http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists?pi=0&ps=20&sf=&sa=0&sq=&a...

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[cgktuber]

@1:45 "The Government, in an attempt to 'protect' poor people often creates new obstacles for them." - Walter Williams

[OnlyAPawn1970]

The Gov. is getting bigger everyday consuming liberty and freedom,gathering more and dependents with good intentions.The Gov needs to be more Ltd.

[Huboons]

@kDest "Actually, a misinformed based of stupid people is what makes your job easier." Thanks for making my job easier.

[kDest]

@Huboons

>>Thank goodness for that because it makes my job of being productive and smart that much easier.

Actually, a misinformed based of stupid people is what makes your job easier.

[kDest]

@eggory

>>An unemployed man is a golden opportunity for an employer

Unless there is high unemployment, in which case they are merely expendable cogs.

>>Anyone capable and willing of work who remains unemployed is a lost opportunity, and one simply cannot expect that to go on for long on a large scale.

It does during recessions.

[eggory]

@dlstb Of course if people were physically barred from applying or hiring then that would invalidate my argument as well, except for the fact that I was speaking in terms of a free market, that is a world in which private property is respected and force is never used except as an answer to force.

[KEVLANEW80]

GO TO COLLEGE OR GET A TRADE WE SHOULD NOT HAVE TO RELY ON MINIWAGE.

[jjmdirector]

9 and hour minimum wage in DC.... Great news for minorities. yeah right! More black youth unemployed and hanging around. Victims of good intentions

[dlstb]

@eggory You have forgotten one glaring fact. Welfare. When it started to pay to not work, your argument became invalid. Today there are entire families supported on state and federal aid.

[denny3161]

williams is the greatest!!!!