Raising The Minimum Wage

Several examples of data and statistics from studies elucidate the harmful effects on small businesses and in addition the compelling of companies to close as a result of the increase of minimum wage. According to a Gallup poll that took place in 2013, 60% of small business owners agreed that an increase in minimum wage would be harmful to their small businesses (Should the Federal). Small businesses do not have the money supply that chain corporations do. Naturally, if they had to pay their employees more, it would be harmful to them. Several Walmart stores have closed and Walmart stores that were yet to open have closed as a result of an increase in the minimum wage (Should the Federal). An increase in the minimum wage must even have harmful effects on larger businesses. They obviously employ several more people than a small business, so they have to pay each worker more resulting in a net loss of a lot of money from the chain. Additionally, in several work places, if the minimum wage were increased, the wages of those who hold higher positions would have to be increased. For example, if the amount of money that the minimum wage dishwasher or table busser in a restaurant increased, then the chef and manager would need to be paid accordingly. If the minimum wage were to increase, it would be detrimental to both small and large businesses.

The main reason raising the minimum wage radically would kill the economy is the pressure it would place on small businesses. According to TheWashingtonPost.com article, Small Businesses are the backbone of the economy. They also cited that many studies from the U.S. Small Business Administration show small firms employ just

The controversy over minimum wage has been ongoing. However, as explained in a Time article by Chris Lu on the subject, now is the prime time to raise the federal minimum wage. “Three out of four Americans support an increase; the economy is healthy; and many employers are already raising wages.” It’s reasonable to be worried about the consequences that raising the minimum wage might have in a time of crisis or unrest, but this quote mentions a healthy economy that would be able to handle the shifts in wages if things went south temporarily. Another argument made by opposers of raising the minimum is that businesses will be unable to survive. On the contrary, a good business will find it beneficial. “‘It’s a simple, but critical, concept: take care of your people and they will take care of your customers.’ For &pizza, higher wages reduce employee turnover, increase productivity and improve customer service.” Rather than hurting the economy, raising the minimum wage will help workers, business owners and the economy itself. A higher wage for all is

There will be inflation or rising costs for basic necessities such as housing, food, utilities, transportation and child care. Because of inflation, the minimum wage forces most of the people into poverty. If a person works full-time and his minimum wage is only $14500, and if he has two children this income is more than $4000 below the poverty line. So, increasing the minimum wage would rise almost a million people above the poverty line. But if minimum wages increases, it would result in the loss of jobs because employers would lay off workers to offset the additional labor cost. But, raising the minimum wage has multiple benefits. As an increase to minimum wage moves families above the poverty threshold, their need for public assistance

How would a minimum wage increase effect employment and family income, businesses, and the economy are just a few of the main arguments. Typically any increase in wage also increases income right? Raising the wage in the perception of small business is not usually a good move for the economy. Poverty is an important factor when it comes the economy and minimum wage could be the solution to that.

You may wonder how the economy is affected negatively through minimum wage, so I’ll start there. The health of the economy is based upon an array of factors. Many people misconstrue this fact and think the economy is just based on the amount of money that the government have at their disposal and to be frank I can see why they do as such. The fact of the matter is that the economy and its health is based mostly on Gross Domestic Product or better known as GDP. The GDP alone does not indicate how well our economy is swaying, but change in it do. The goal for our economy and is to grow, have great price stability, and most importantly for this topic: have a high employment rate. Employment rate stand out most in this instance because of the power that minimum wage law has over it. One point that can easily be made that the higher the wage, the more people are going to want to get up and get up and work. The problem with that logic is that the demand for jobs will be high, but the supply for jobs will run out well before everyone is employed if the minimum wages was incredibly

Businesses would be hurt because they would lose money from having to pay their thousands of workers $15 an hour. Also, in attempt to keep their income, businesses would have to lay off more than half of their workers, hurting people more than helping them. If minimum wages are raised, there would be millions more jobless people, and possibly thousands more homeless people. Is that what you want? Do you want millions to suffer just so a few thousand people will be paid $8 more an hour? A raise in minimum wages will throw people off their tracks, and millions have to live more scarcely than they were used to living due to lack of income. The only thing that would happen to the majority of the population if minimum wages were raised is losing their jobs. As you can see, a raise in minimum wages would be fatal for millions of

Many people currently earning minimum wage are clamoring for an increase while others do not want an increase to keep wages competitive. A minimum wage increase would help out the ones that are currently earning a minimum wage “If the federal minimum wage were increased, the disparity in the minimum wage and tipped workers' hourly wage could grow larger.” (Leah Cayson). A minimum wage increase would let workers have more hours which in turn means more productivity for the business, more money for the employee, and the employees would be happier. The amount of people living in poverty is high enough with many of them living on welfare checks but if the minimum wage does increase that could go away completely reducing taxes for everyone. Many people also believe that the minimum wage should stay where it currently is “Going to $15 adds $128,000 to labor costs, almost 3 times the take-home pay of the owner. Ask yourself how one of the 5 million small businesses with fewer than 10 workers would handle this” (William Dunkelberg). Small business owners are already having to pay a lot of money for labor, supplies, and advertising. Increasing the minimum wage up to $15 will decrease wages for

Imagine standing over a scorching grill for hours, taking care of the elderly, both lifting and transporting heavy loads, basically doing back breaking work; only to be making less than $8 and hour. That is the reality for millions of people in the work force who are earning minimum wage. Whether or not minimum wage should be raised has been a question many people have been discussing for years and has become quite controversial. Those opposed to increased minimum wages would argue that a minimum wage salary is already sufficient enough, or in some cases even “too high”. In spite of the opposing sides, it is almost certain that a rise in minimum wage will either positively or negatively affect several aspects of the country. For one, an increase in minimum wage could result in an economic shift. Furthermore, the current poverty level within the country, with the help of a higher minimum wage, would either decrease or as a result. Thirdly, a change in poverty levels caused by a higher minimum wage would ultimately change the amount of government spending and those who receive it. Minimum wage being raised would definitely be impactful not only the people receiving those minimum waged salaries, but also the economy, their families, and even the government funding.

Some that oppose raising the federal minimum wage would insist that individuals in specific fields lack experience and skill for such a large wage and that many businesses would have to lay off employees that would result in producing with minimum labor because these businesses cannot afford wage increases. I believe raising the minimum wage would expand overall economic activity generating more jobs and more monetary flow by increasing both supply and demand. If minimum wage was increased, the economizing problem would be slightly reduced and more money back into the market increasing demand and needing more human labor resources to produce a larger supply to fulfill the demand.

If the government decides to raise the minimum wage it can affect workers in companies that has minimum wage employers. According to "Measuring the Full Impact of Minimum and Living Wage Laws," “Employees who are working just above minimum wage may feel it is unfair that minimum wage employees are receiving a raise, especially if no one else is getting a raise. When minimum wage employees receive an increase in pay and no one else in the company does, this can cause a drop in company morale.” Furthermore because of minimum wage increase it will result in higher prices for consumers because it must be paid by someone. Not only will raising minimum wage increase payroll costs, but it will the increase all others’ wages as well. According to The 2012 Wilson review noted: A 2004 “review of more than 20 minimum wage studies looking at price effects found that a 10 percent increase in the U.S. minimum wage raises food prices by up to 4

Raising the minimum wage can result in job losses due to lower profits for businesses. It can also potentially decrease employee hours by changing them from full time to part time. Additionally, it may reduce the full time benefits that they receive. If this were to happen, then the employees affected will actually be earning less than they did before the increase. For example, from the Article Maximum Divide on Minimum Wage (Mejeur, 2014), they state, “Labor costs are the largest share of the budget Mandatory hourly wages mean that businesses will be forced to cut jobs or reduce hours to maintain their bottom line”. This shows that when businesses are forced to spend more money, they lose profits that could have helped create more jobs and company expansion. If they are tied back due to be forced to increase wages without economic justification, then companies in America will not be improving, but rather just surviving. Since the overall goal for most businesses is to improve profits and enlarge their businesses, it is safe to assume that, in order for companies to survive, that the minimum wage needs to stay the same unless there is viable economic justification to do so. Artificially being forced to increase the minimum wage due to a government sanction or mandate is ill advised. If an increase in wage needs to be implemented, then the government needs to create policies that aid economic expansion for companies to be able to afford it. These policies could

From an economic perspective, one can see that raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour will cause firms to decrease employment. If the cost of each worker increases, firms will not be able to hold as many workers and will be forced to lay people off or suffer a loss in profit. The problem with raising the minimum wage is that it creates a downward rigid market and causes firms to either sell its goods and services at a higher cost or lay off workers to balance out the increase in cost. Creating a market where wage is not flexible and is above the real market equilibrium means that firms will simply decrease employment and increase prices. This kind of unemployment is known as

The most prevalent and steadfast myth surrounding the raising of the federal minimum wage is that it will doom the economy. This might seem logical at first, but just think about it for a second. Why do minimum wage employees need more cash? The answer is simple: To spend it, to buy the things that they and their families need to survive. “Most minimum wage workers need this income to make ends meet and spend it quickly, boosting the economy. Research indicates that for every $1 added to the minimum wage, low-wage worker households spent an additional $2,800 the following year” (Fair). Furthermore, EPI estimates that if the federal minimum wage were raised to $10.10 an hour, it would result in over

The minimum wage has grown twenty two times since it was first introduced in 1938.