Poking the (new) retard.

If it's a day that ends in 'y', then Blogging Tory Justin "Raging Wanker" Hoffer has posted something retarded. Let's check:

Minimum wage increase in Alberta a bad idea.

The minimum wage in Alberta is going up. This is a very, very bad idea.

When minimum wage goes up, a business owner is forced to find a way to compensate for the lost earnings. He'll either raise his prices or employ less people. It causes inflation and eliminates jobs.

Oh, nooezzzz!1!!!111! Paying people $8.80 per hour instead of $8.40 will, like, you know, totally cripple the provincial economy!! Because, like, you know, that's going to totally restructure money and everything.

By the way, here's the part of the article that Justin linked to that he apparently didn't bother to read:

The new minimum wage is still a far cry from the average hourly wage in Alberta. That’s $23.90.

Dear Justin: EPIC FAIL!!

AFTERSNARK: One wonders if morons like Justin ever actually think about what they're typing. Let's do some math, shall we?

The province says there are about 20,000 workers earning minimum wage — mostly teens 15 to 19 years old in the food and hotel services industry.

So ... we have an increase in the Alberta minimum wage from $8.40 to $8.80, which will -- according to the province itself -- affect some 20,000 workers. A little multiplication -- 20,000 employees x 40c per hour x 40-hour work week -- equals a total effect across the entire province of ... $320,000.

That's right, Justin -- the province-wide effect of that vicious, crippling minimum wage hike would be less than one-third of a million dollars per week, spread across the entire province. Yes, I can certainly see how that kind of massive financial restructuring and wealth redistribution would absolutely devastate Canada's economic engine.

By the way, Justin, that was sarcasm. Just in case you needed help in recognizing it.