Proponents of Reich's proposal assert that it would help those who currently earn the minimum wage. It's certainly true that some will benefit from a wage increase of 12 percent. But surely, others will not appreciate a decrease of 100 percent.

What is most ironic about the minimum wage is that it actually ends up harming the people that it's intended to aid. Spokespersons for industries which employ a high percentage of low-skilled employees have already warned that Reich's proposal would likely leave them with no other alternative but to reduce employment.

Minimum wage laws have tremendously detrimental effects. Most economists recognize the many inefficiencies, but some Americans still support minimum wages under the delusion that such regulations help the poor. But government intervention actually harms these people by decreasing job opportunities.

Even if the consequences of minimum wage laws weren't so harmful, they would still be highly inefficient. Less than 20 percent of minimum-wage workers live below the poverty line, meaning that the benefits go primarily, not to the poor, but to people such as well-off students who have summer jobs.

If the president does not turn away from the path of increased taxes and towards a more prudent economic policy, the jobs of countless Americans will be lost.

Fortunately, Americans are waking up. As polls have shown, Americans have grown increasingly dissatisfied with Clinton and his economic record. He promised jobs, but has failed to deliver.