There are a lot of misconceptions about the Alt-Right out there. When you ask anyone about it all they can say is “racist” or “white nationalist” without being able to name any single position of the Alt-right. In an effort to introduce the Alt-right and its many positions to everyone I will be starting an article series called the Alt-right view. I will begin with this one on the minimum wage.

First of who are the alt-right? The alt-right is the alternative right. We believe that the old paradigm of conservative right and progressive left is outdated. We believe the world is moving toward a nationalist right and globalist left paradigm. In fact if you view Brexit and the election of President Trump through these lens the coalitions that materialized makes sense. There are of course many different flavors of nationalist under the banner of Alt-right but the primary focus and tie of all the groups is economic nationalism.

On to minimum wage. The Alt-right does not actually have a problem with the concept of minimum wage. This is of course in contrast with some of the more conservative members of the Republican coalition which believe in a free market solution for wages. We do acknowledge that it is beneficial to have a minimum wage level set to protect labor in times like what we are experiencing currently where there is too much labor and not enough available jobs driving down its price.

What we do reject is the federal minimum wage. We think that that is not a viable solution and creates more problems than it solves. If there must be one, then we believe it should be set to the wage necessary for the state with the lowest standard of living. On a theoretical level the federal minimum wage cannot meet the needs of a country as economically diverse as America. It would be like the EU mandating that Greece and Germany have the same wage. Any wage set to fit the needs of New York would hurt Detroit and any wage set to fit the needs of Detroit would hurt New York. From a practical standpoint we must also point out that the countries which proponents of the federal minimum wage hold as examples such as Sweden do not even use nationwide minimum wage. They instead use a complex web of minimum wage levels divided by industry as they realize each industry has different needs.

The vision of the Alt-right for the minimum wage is one set by each state, or better yet per county. Each county would be able to tell the necessary wage in their area for optimal growth with. One of the most prominent causes of divisions of the country is income inequality. State or countywide minimum wage combined with protectionist policies would encourage companies to outsource from the coast inland and from cities to rural areas as opposed to third world countries. An increase in the number of available jobs then gradually increases the wage as well leading to a better income distribution in the country. Lastly this system allows for greater accountability for the elected representatives. If the federal minimum wage hurts Alabama but helps New York then New York can still outvote Alabama to keep it in place. If it was done in a local manner then the person who screwed up in Alabama could be replaced while keeping the one who was successful in New York.

I will be doing more of these articles in the future to articulate more of the positions of the Alt-right. I will probably do one on trade and trade wars, intervention and military action, and immigration. If you have any topics you would like me to cover just add it in the comments. I hope this helps everyone understand the Alt-right more.