The other day, a young lady got on the elevator and promptly whipped out her smartphone and began scrolling.
“Excuse me,” I said, “can I ask you where you get your news?”
She said, “You mean like news about what’s going on in the world?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, TikTok.”
This reminded me of a dinner conversation I once had with economist Thomas Sowell. We discussed the overwhelming consensus among economists that the minimum wage does more damage than good. He called the minimum wage perhaps one of the most studied topics in the field.
Sowell talked about a 1987 New York Times editorial with the headline, “The Right Minimum Wage: $0.00.” It said:
“… There’s a virtual consensus among economists that the minimum wage is an idea whose time has passed. Raising the minimum wage by a substantial amount would price working poor people out of the job market …
“An increase in the minimum wage to, say, $4.35 would restore the purchasing power of bottom-tier wages. It would also permit a minimum-wage breadwinner to earn almost enough to keep a family of three above the official poverty line. There are catches, however. It would increase employers’ incentives to evade the law, expanding the underground economy. More important, it would increase unemployment: Raise the legal minimum price of labor above the productivity of the least skilled workers and fewer will be hired.”
Now The New York Times has since reversed its position. But Economics 101 has not been repealed.
“Given this consensus,” I asked Sowell, “why does the minimum wage remain so popular even among some Republican politicians? Why haven’t you economists won this argument?”
He said, “Because many people, especially on the left, have never heard the arguments against the minimum wage. They get their information from TV news, and they’re not interested in the downside of the minimum wage.”
This conversation about this “ignorance bubble” took place about 25 years ago. Today, most people no longer get their news from the evening newscasts on ABC, CBS and NBC.
News aggregators like Microsoft, Apple, Google, Yahoo, TikTok and YouTube now serve as primary news conveyors and deliver the news feeds that pop up on smartphones. As aggregators, they select stories from news outlets and serve them to consumers based on what the platforms think users want to see.
This means the aggregators increasingly prioritize stories that reinforce a user’s preexisting worldview. Their goal is to keep the user glued to the phone. The best way to do this is to tell people what they want to hear and give “news” that confirms what they already believe. And that’s the problem: People increasingly consume information that confirms their beliefs instead of challenging them.
All Sides is a company that measures media bias, whether from the left or the right. This is from a recent analysis:
“AllSides conducted news aggregator bias analyses in late 2025. Among the most biased remain Google News and Apple News — in 2025, Google News (Lean Left) curated 73% of articles from outlets with a bias on the left and just 1% of articles from outlets on the right. Apple News (Lean Left) curated 50% from the left and just 2% from the right.
“Most news aggregators curate primarily from media outlets with an AllSides Media Bias Rating of Lean Left or Left. Our 2025 analyses found that most curate less than 10% of articles from news outlets rated Lean Right or Right. Aggregators tend to source from legacy media outlets that Americans and expert bias reviewers on average rate Lean Left or Left, like CNN (Lean Left), AP (Left bias), and The New York Times (Lean Left).”
Take one narrative pushed by the likes of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani: “The rich don’t pay their fair share in taxes.” In fact, the top 10% of earners pay nearly 75% of all federal income taxes. The top 1% pay over 40% while earning roughly 20% of the nation’s income. These numbers certainly undermine the narrative that “the rich don’t pay their fair share.” Indeed, based on their share of the nation’s income versus their share of federal taxes paid, one could argue that the rich are overtaxed.
Large numbers of Americans do not know this. If the news aggregators have anything to say about it, many Americans never will.
Larry Elder is a bestselling author and nationally syndicated radio talk-show host. To find out more about Larry Elder, or become an “Elderado,” visit here. Follow Larry on X @larryelder. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage.
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We have an endless source of political ignorance, it’s called the Democrat party. The ultimate oxymoron is using the word democrat and intelligence in the same sentence
People are ignorant and lazy to think, but not that stupid to realize they can’t hire a help they can’t pay for.. Even if every dollar were taken from the rich and evenly distributed between the poor, how long, before they’ve spent every dime and end up at the bottom again, dependency does not prosperity bring.
Nothing new here with this article. Most commonsense people already knew that MSM outlets were only relaying what they are told to put out. Deception of the truth is still on the Leftist agenda and the ignorant continue to fall for it.
Young people, especially, tend to have their ignorance reinforced by the news they see/read. A thinking person realizes that increasing wages will increase prices, plus other negative effects.
The minimum wage is for HS drop outs $4 or $5 is more than enough. Give HS graduates a minimum wage of 50 cents more and college grads another 50 cents. Minimum wage is for the bottom of the workforce. Skilled workers make more based on their skills. When you raise the minimum wage you cause inflation of wages for all workers and an increase in costs and hence prices for everyone. The people who get hurt are those on fixed incomes mainly those who are retired. It is very discouraging to see entry level people making what many worked 20 or more years to achieve.
Folks, in 1955 I was looking for a job after my school day. I found a man looking for this kind of employee. At that time the minimum wage was 1.00 per Hr.. He told me he was willing to pay me .80 cents per hour. I said I will take the job. He was a mechanic & found this gas station for lease, but he had to sell gas. He was struggling to make a go it at that time.
You would not believe the mechanical experience I got while working for this man. Yes I started filling gas tanks, checking the oil level, the water level & cleaning the front & back windows. When I left 2 1/2 years latter, I could tear down an engine & put it back together again. I couldn’t have gotten this education unless I paid someone a lot of money. But I got paid .80 cents & hour. That’s all I was worth at that time.
Democracy doesn’t work in an uneducated population… as large numbers of the voting public (possibly a majority) are too uneducated to evaluate the issues, candidates, etc. and vote intelligently for the best option.
Our schools (and universities) have large numbers of “ostensibly teachers”… but, in effect, are activists, indoctrinators, etc. of our young students that still have young malleable minds that are being intentionally filled with anti-American “wrong information”. As a result, there are many US schools that have hundreds (thousands?) enrolled, but do not have a single student performing at grade level. Also, we have high schools graduating total illiterates that get the same diploma as the ones that those highly capable students that have EARNED it have received…
So, with MANY of our students leaving the traditional “school years” of their lives in a state of ignorance…is it any wonder that they get their news from TikTok, Youtube, the legacy mainstream biased media…or whatever other shallow, “bright object’ fake news source that attracts them.
The numbers of uneducated youth in our nation are legion, they walk among us and (Lord save us)…they vote.
From Larry Elder’s lips to GOD’s ears. Our next 3 generations have been educated by ABC/NBC/CBS/cell phones/PMSNOW/tea leaves/moonbeams/each other!
(Sam walks away, mutterin’ to himself….)
One of the great freedoms Americans have is that we have several sources of news media & that the media is not controlled as one source from the government. Media that is controlled by one source is Communism.
Apparently there are enough people out there who do not care to know the truth about anything. How can we have a country based upon an honest and fair elections system and court system if at least half the citizens have no idea what is true and what is a lie? It is obvious that even lying under oath is now overlooked. These politicians go through hearings so we can get the truth about their actions and they all lie on the stand. They know they are lying, the people who are asking the questions know they are lying and we citizens who follow such things also know they are lying. Nothing ever comes of it. I recall when people got jail time simply for lying under oath. At least half of our population thinks lying, cheating, violence against others and stealing is okay!!! It is disturbing and getting worse all the time. We need to take action against all of the liars in our government now!!
If only, even our conservate outlets would describe the incentives involved in earning a wage. I really think some of our youth(the ones usually affected by min. wage) have learned this truth, if you cost too much, we will give you shorter hours, as our customer base has lessened, so you’re not a “money-maker”.
Larry Elder, Thomas Sowell, thank you for this stated truth.I think this could be the cause of so much youth damage to property and crime in general.No jobs,
I never once believed that the rich don’t pay their fair share of taxes. I believe everyone pays too much in taxes and the fact that there is so much proven fraud, I know I am right. We are slaves to our government. We can’t even live in our homes without fear of losing them to high taxes.
The government wants an ignorant electorate.
The Ministry of Propaganda, i. e. the mainstream press, is happy to carry the government water.