Letters: Minimum wage: part of the ladder

Re “A sturdier ladder to success,” Opinion, Jan. 17

Leave it to an ideology-blind liberal to discuss “ladders of success” for the young and the poor without mentioning the minimum wage.

The minimum-wage law has long been characterized by legions of economists, not just Milton Friedman, as removing the figurative bottom rung from the ladder of success for the marginally unskilled by removing that all-important first job that leads to better-paying subsequent jobs.

So why does columnist Ronald Brownstein ignore it? Because it’s a proven vote-getter for liberals.

Call me a cynic, but I think liberals are far more interested in meretricious gimmicks like the minimum wage, which appeal to suckers and the uninformed, than they are in genuine solutions to people’s problems.

Patrick M. Dempsey
Granada Hills