When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?

Yes, of course there is a point being made. Look at the size of the federal budget they now command. Look at the cost of government in general.

They've got much higher salaries, which has led to incredible inflation in federal spending. I think the point is very clear :-)

That interpretation hadn't occurred to me.

I saw it as a criticism of Congress for being unwilling to raise the minimum wage, while repeatedly raising their own salaries; Calling them hypocrites. This bothered me, of course, because it implies that Congress should interfere with a transaction and agreement between two people who might otherwise agree on a lower wage. On the other hand, I wondered if maybe she had a good point in that the market is not allowed to act on Congressional salaries, either.

I am still thinking on it, so I hope some more people will chime in.

I doubt the one I suggested is the point the original cartoonist was going for. It's just what I read into it.

If anything, the cartoon itself is belies a central-planning mindset. She thinks it is Congress' job to set salaries, and thus it is hypocritical for them to raise their own while not raising those of other people. Of course, to anyone that understands the free market, we realize it's not their job to set salaries, so her point is lost on us.

"I find that most editorial cartoons are really good at communicating a really bad point."

Just wanted to point out that this is a brilliant observation

You know, this is the kind of post that makes me wish I had the time to make charts and graphs right now, like I usually do to explain basic economics to socialists.

Congress giving itself pay raises is in no way related to setting a minimum wage, however both have negative impacts on the economy. Increasing Congressional salaries means that more money from the Federal budget has to go to paying these people, increasing government spending and possibly giving excuses for tax increases. When was the last time you saw Congress give itself a pay cut to decrease federal spending?

On the other hand, increasing the minimum wage makes labor cost more money than it is worth, decreasing the number of jobs employers can provide, therefore stagnating the economy overall when companies have to lay people off or freeze hiring due to artificially high cost of labor.

But I'm preaching to the choir here.

By the way, I think PCIF might be working again. Internet is still painfully slow, but we're inport Valparaiso, Chile, so things can't be all bad!

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