My dad got his first job at age 13, making $3.85 an hour at the local ice cream shop. A minimum wage like this in today’s world wouldn’t even scratch the poverty line. Wages have risen and so have prices. Starting from the bottom, my dad worked his way to success. Growing up in a very poor family, working at a young age was his means for survival. My dad’s experience in the work force showed me that hard work should be recognized, however raising the minimum wage is not the solution.
Introduction to the workforce is where you learn the fundamentals such as taking direction and treating customers with respect. Minimum wage is not intended to be a wage one could live off of, just a starting one.
There is push to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10. Research done by economists at the University of California-Irvine and the Federal Reserve Board finds that raising the minimum wage reduces employment for those with little experience who need to provide for a family.
Kim Clarke, head of the Illinois chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business, believes workers “can’t support a family on a minimum-wage job,” said Clarke. She also recognizes that although this may be the case, “the vast majority of people with minimum wage jobs are high school students, college students and people who aren’t the primary earner in their families.”
Raising the minimum wage would be inefficient for employees starting in the workforce or providers for their family due to price inflation and necessary job cuts.
People that have to support their family off a minimum wage income would be better off keeping the rate where it is at so that consumers can keep buying and boosting revenues.
David Macpherson, professor at Trinity University, writes about the inverse relationship between unemployment and minimum wage.
“Illinois already has a minimum wage that’s higher than any of its neighbors — and it has an unemployment rate higher than them, too.” States that have a raised minimum wage are already suffering the consequences.
President Obama mentioned in the State of the Union address that raising minimum wage would fuel spending, however small businesses have limited money to pay workers and therefore would have to make job cuts.
As the common phrase goes, “where there is a will, there is a way.” Recovering from the economic downfall is essential for all of society. Raising the minimum wage will not help us do that. It will take hard work and other fresh ideas to benefit all aspects of the market. Whether you are a teenager working long hours at an ice cream shop or a single parent supporting their family, employment beats job cuts any day of the week. It’s twisted to think that earning more money means more people not making money at all, so let’s straighten the spiral.
