Eliminate the federal minimum wage

Minimum wage laws do not guarantee that anyone will make any certain, minimal amount.  Instead, those laws reduce jobs by making jobs that would ordinarily pay less than minimum wage illegal.  This also reduces any incentive for employers to offer on-the-job training, since the employer may not be able to afford to pay an employee the minimum wage while paying someone else to train that employee.  So, the employer looks for someone with experience, while inexperienced people are not considered.  And the result for the employer may be that they didn't hire the best person for the job, simply because the best person didn't have any experience.

I, for one, recognize the value of the experience I might get from working at an apprenticeship type job, and might be willing to accept a smaller paycheck, or in some cases none, in exchange for that experience.  The federal government, though, wants to “protect” me from those predatory employers that might offer those opportunities by making them illegal.  Do us all a favor, Uncle Sam, and stop protecting the citizens of this country right into long-term unemployment.