We have become a nation where success is demonized by the Left and the very people who create jobs are attacked as selfish. Kudos to National Review and writer Alec Torres for putting a face to one such “bad guy” and for showcasing the reality of the government push for mandatory higher wages for entry-level employees. Meet Mike DeRosa, who owns a dozen Burger King franchises in Wisconsin and employees around 300 people. 

When I ask him how raising the minimum wage would influence his business, he tells me that every time the minimum wage has gone up, he has had to reduce his number of employees. The young — about 60 percent of DeRosa’s employees are aged 16 to 24 — will be most hurt by a minimum-wage hike. “I still try to make sure that I hire high-school kids and youngsters who can work outside of school at 15 and 16, and I still try to get them an opportunity,” he says. “But if the minimum wage were higher, would I be able to invest in a 14- or 15-year-old person? The answer would be no.”

Young people have many more limitations than the older workers. Due to regulations, workers under 18 can’t cut food, can’t use the fryer, and can work only a limited number of hours per week. Students in particular need shorter shifts and more time off. “They’re great kids and they do a good job when they’re there,” DeRosa says, “but they just can’t do enough to earn much higher wages, and that’s when you begin to shut off opportunities.”

Mike DeRosa — bad guy to the Left — is doing everything he can to make a living and help others put food on the table as well. And for this, he and others like him, are demonized.