Is Stupidity Good Enough Justification to Recall Sali?

Here another example of that Idaho will elect any idiot with an R behind his name. Bill Sali, Idaho 1st District Representive to Congrees, recently wrote an editorial in Boise's major daily, the Idahostatesman, about the minimum wage. The main crux of his argument is that the minimum wage is bad and that it is unconstitutional.

Now, I’m not going to debate with him if the minimum wage is good or bad. I, personally, am not a huge supporter of the minimum wage, I think that the implementation was a mistake. But it does exist. I would like to see that minimum wage abolished; however, if it is going to exist, than it should at least be a real market minimum. As it is now, I think it is an artificial price floor that is decreasing wages and therefore should be increased; therefore the actions of congress were a much needed fix. I know, it’s a complicated position, but it’s the one I take.

What I will take contention with, is Mr. Sali’s argument that the minimum wage is an unconstitutional extension of power. Uh, hello, Mr. Sali, see Article I, section 8, Clause 3 of the US Constitution. Minimum wages fit into even the most conservative definition of something falling under the term “commerce”. The constitution gives the US Congress the power to intervene, to “regulate Commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states…”. If one state were to abolish the minimum wage it could lead to a labor price war between the states and therefore introduce havoc into “commerce” between the states, therefore, labor prices are something that the congress has the authority to intervene into if it wanted to prevent this type of economic condition from occurring. This alone defeats Mr. Sali’s contention and we don’t even need to discuss weaker, but probably just as valid, arguments like the fact that when the constitution was written the word commerce included social conditions rather than strict economic definition it has today and therefore we could argue that founder might have agreed that the minimum wage is constitutional. Moreover, the Supreme Court has already looked at the issue several times during the last century and upheld the constitutionality of the minimum wage several times.

This seems to be a pattern for the legislator from Idaho. He takes an argument, which may or not be valid, and then marries it with crap he just makes up. He is against abortions (which is a valid position) but chooses to marry that to the assertion that it causes breast cancer. He is against the minimum wage (which is a valid position) and chooses to marry that to the assertion that it’s unconstitutional. The result is the he’s a laughing stock, any arguments he has gets watered down with his creative fleets of fancy. Idaho will be the butt of jokes in DC for the length of his term. This kind of intellectual laziness might work will when shooting the shit with the boys back on the farm, but it’s not kind of representation I would have picked for my beloved home state.