A Raise on Minimum Wage

Minimum wage… should the Government raise it? Hmm, that’s a thoughtful question.  Many things to be consider. The pros and cons need to be reviewed.

I believe that the costs of raising minimum wage by far out ways the benefits. Sure, people may gain more money to support themselves and their families. Sure, they won’t have to work as many hours as they would usually have to, to reach their needed income. Sure, it’s nice to have a higher pay grade, but there comes a price that everyone must pay with those high wages.

One cost of raising the minimum wage is unemployment. If a rise in minimum wage is enforced by the government, then businesses will have to cut back on employees to make a profit and cover costs. If employers don’t cut back on employees, then businesses will have to raise the prices on their services and goods, which is bad news for the customers; making this the second cost of raising minimum wage. Not only will a higher price on goods and services be unpleasant for the consumer, but it could also put a damper/ dent on the wellbeing of businesses.  Raising minimum wage “does nothing to make these workers more “valuable” on the job market. Instead it puts small businesses in an unacceptable bind that helps non one”, Edward Morrissey in The Fiscal times.  Jen Laurson and George Pieler stated in Forbes that “a higher minimum wage make sense to restore that balance of a booming economy, but in a struggling economy-when higher hiring costs kill jobs- that equilibrium point “is always Lower””.  Another cost due to a rise in minimum wage payment could also be fewer benefits for those employed. Business must find some way to get their profits to outweigh their costs and taking away benefits from workers is one way that they can do that. It would only seem right to take away from their benefits too, because what they may have lacked in pay the employees got back in benefits.

So those were a few of the reasons why I do not support a raise in minimum payment. With minimum payment the costs seem to outweigh the benefits. With a rise in minimum wage employers will find ways to cover the balance the costs and benefits, which could cause more unemployment, loss of benefits, of higher rise in service and good prices.

Work Citing:

1)      Hernandez, Sergio. The Week.N.p., 21 Feb. 2013. Web. 22 Feb. 2013.

http://theweek.com/article/index/240460/how-will-raising-the-minimum-wage-affect-the-economy