… is from Thomas Sowell’s March 27th, 1984, letter to a Mr. Ford, as this letter appears on pages 204-206 of Sowell’s 2007 collection, A Man of Letters:
Most black youngsters do not have parents who can hire them in the family business or use influence to get them jobs in a friend’s business. Their only hope is to get a start somewhere out in the harsh competition of the marketplace – or the even harsher competition of crime. After they get some experience under their belts, they will be worth more than the minimum wage. But to prevent them from getting the experience in the first place, by insisting that they receive the minimum wage from day one, is a great disservice to them.