American Samoa rep. says minimum wage hurts local economy
January 23rd, 2007 by Brendan SteinhauserI found the American Samoa representative’s comments enlightening. He is a Democrat who opposes the federal minimum wage hike because he realizes the economic implications of arbitrarily raising the rate. Too bad his fellows don’t understand basic economics.
The Democrat-controlled Senate took up a bill yesterday that would raise the minimum wage across the United States and its territories but exempt American Samoa, where tuna canneries pay workers $3.26 an hour.
Delegate Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, a nonvoting Democrat representing American Samoa, opposes extending the minimum wage to that territory.
A “decrease in production or departure of one or both of the two canneries in American Samoa could devastate the local economy, resulting in massive layoffs and insurmountable financial difficulties,” he said, echoing the arguments of conservatives against applying the wage to poorer regions of the U.S.
“The truth is the global tuna industry is so competitive that it is no longer possible for the federal government to demand mainland minimum-wage rates for American Samoa without causing the collapse of our economy and making us welfare wards of the federal government,” Mr. Faleomavaega said.
