I would like to thank the restaurant server who wrote the fine column, “Maine Voices: Tipped workers need one fair wage on which they can rely,” on Aug. 17. She highlighted the plight of employees in high-supply, low-demand jobs. She even stated how expendable and replaceable she was.

However, asking government to set a higher minimum wage makes as much sense as asking government to set minimum prices for rent, gasoline or paper towels. A higher minimum wage for the server just leads to higher prices for the food she serves, the groceries she buys and the rent she pays.

Once a $10-an-hour minimum wage is set, the Maine economy will reset, with higher prices, higher unemployment, employers moving out of state and a smaller tax base to support more General Assistance claims. Soon, $10 an hour will no longer be enough, and unskilled workers will ask for $15 an hour, and so on.

What sets our mostly free-market system apart from failed socialist states like Greece and Cuba is that we usually have the freedom to choose to buy what we wish, to choose to study our field of interest and to train and apply for the job we want, with a minimum of government interference.

The restaurant server who wrote this column might get financial aid to enter a three-month training program to become a certified nursing assistant or similar higher-paying job in another field. A free-market system can only work if we allow it to be free.

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