Does Mary Poppins Want a Higher Minimum Wage Or Lower Taxes?

A
Funny or Die video released earlier this week stars Kristen
Bell as an underpaid Mary Poppins singing about why the federal
minimum wage is too low. Ostensibly, that’s the message—raise the
minimum wage—and it’s what thousands of people watching the video
on Facebook are hearing.

They should listen closely, though. Bell’s Mary Poppins is
actually upset that her paycheck is too low after the
government takes its cut.
Seriously:

“You get your paycheck and snap. Federal and state income tax,
Medicare and Social Security? Why, you’re living below the
poverty line.”

One way to address the problem of government gobbling up
workers’ paychecks would be to mandate that some earners
(employers) must give more money to other earners (employees),
indirectly covering the difference between the amount workers
deserve and the amount they actually earn after the government
pilfers their pockets. In other words, raise the minimum
wage.

Another way to address the problem of government gobbling
up workers’ paychecks would be to not have government do that. In
other words, reduce taxes and entitlement spending.

Maybe if the government didn’t force Mary Poppins to cover
its
massive liabilities stemming from generous public employee
compensation, for instance, she could afford to keep dancing with
penguins.