LFDA Facebookers pan Ovide's teen-wage plan

In the Live Free or Die Alliance's May 23 Facebook Question of the Day, we asked what our followers thought about a proposal Republican gubernatorial hopeful Ovide Lamontagne floated during a visit to Manchester's Central High School.

Lamontagne suggested that lowering the minimum wage for students during the summer would free up capital for increased hiring of summer help. But the majority of our Facebook followers -- by a 2-to-1 ratio -- dismissed his idea out of hand, saying his hopes of boosting the economy would end up being undermined by the lower wages.

"No way!!!" said one commenter representative of the prevailing opinion (espoused by 28 of the 41 individual respondents). "They have bills to pay too as well as use the $ to boost the economy. Some of these kids depend upon these jobs to pay for their own expenses and even save for college."

However, Lamontagne's proposal attracted some support, as well, with one respondent making the point that "Minimum wage is a symptom of distorted markets. Forcing employers to pay a higher wage above market value means fewer jobs available ... Everything costs more because the macro effect of the aggregated total added dollar supply from min wage requirements has led to everyone having a little more money but much less to spend."

Read the entire comment thread, including some civil but spirited back-and-forth among some respondents, and consider weighing in yourself at www.facebook.com/LiveFreeOrDieAlliance!