How To Raise Minimum Wage Should Be Increased

Since 1938, the federal government and state government have imposed minimum wage

through the Department of Labor. The aim of the laws is to help low wage workers when, in fact,

this backfires on the exact people the laws were intended to help. Decades of economic research

show that minimum wages usually end up hurting workers and the economy. Minimum wage

(especially when raised) limits the opportunities for low-skilled workers, minorities, and young

adults. The laws force employers to discriminate against people with low skills. By raising the

minimum wage, jobs will be lost by the people who need them the most. This ultimately prevents

a larger portion of the population from climbing the economic ladder and living the American

This could lead other

shops and industries to raise their prices as well. This would result in a higher cost of living and

eventually lead to another push to raise minimum wage once again. It could be argued that by

raising the minimum wage people will have more money to spend and therefore businesst

activity will increase. This theory is not valid because the weakening of the workforce would

greatly outweigh any benefit obtained by people whose wages were raised by just three dollars.

“Some policymakers may believe that companies simply absorb the costs of minimum wage

increases through reduced profits, but that 's rarely the case. Instead, businesses rationally

respond to such mandates by cutting employment and making other decisions to maintain their

net earnings. These behavioral responses usually offset the positive labor market results that

policymakers are hoping for.”

There is a large misconception that low wage jobs are meant to be permanent jobs when

in fact these jobs are meant to be temporary. Low wage jobs should be seen as “first jobs”