    How much should your time be worth? Would you like to have more money in your pocket while working the same amount of time? Of course, everyone wants their time to be worth as much as possible, but what can we afford to pay low skill workers? Recently various lawmakers have wanted to change the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10. The minimum wage was originally created to regulate child labor and to ensure that companies were not taking advantage of their employees. But recently, these lawmakers argue that the raise will promote spending and therefore, making the economy more active.

 This will not work, for example after the change, “many unskilled workers will be unable to find work and will be denied valuable on-the-job training and the opportunity to acquire experience and skills” (Ten Reasons Economist). This shows us the possible negative effects if the wages were changed. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, “We estimate the minimum wage's effects on low-skilled workers' employment and income trajectories are negative” this possibility is frightening for our economy.   a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a

Previously working as a pizza delivery man, I can understand the interest for a higher wage. If I received this pay raise it could mean the difference between making $100 a night up to even $160. This could change five days of work from $500 to $800 for a simple $2.75 extra an hour. Unfortunately, this raise would have forced my employers to make unsavory changes. An increase in the minimum wage would damage the economy because it would cause downsizing, increase poverty, and raise inflation.

    Unless a company is making a substantial amount of money to afford a pay raise they will fire employees when the minimum wage is raised. This is due to the company having to pay more for the same amount of work getting done. As the American Enterprise Institution writes, “In summary, economists are not unconcerned about unskilled workers, we are actually very concerned about those workers and it is because of that concern to maximize employment” A.E.I. tells their readers that a job that doesn’t pay well is still better than being unemployed, “Simply put, we would rather see unskilled workers employed at a market wage – even if that wage is only $5, $6 an hour – that allows them to gain valuable work experience and on-the-job training, than to be unemployed at $0.00 an hour.” A.E.I. states that the pay increase will prove too much for most companies to pay. Even if the pay increase is only a half of a dollar, then a company can still expect to lose a large section of their profits to the new expense. In a Gallup poll held in 2013, “60% of small-business owners say that raising the minimum wage will hurt most their business” and this “crippled” business will eventually begin downsizing. The higher wage would limit the funds of a company, so the next step a company can take is to close the locations down.

    As locations close and companies downsize the unemployment rate will increase. Pew researcher center says, “Less than half (45%) of the 2.6 million hourly workers who were at or below the federal minimum in 2015 were ages 16 to 24. An additional 23.3% are ages 25 to 34, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics; both shares have stayed more or less constant over the past decade” (Desilver). This statistic shows that large amounts of citizens will be affected by the layoffs. Polls by the Congressional Budget Office revealed, “38% of employers who currently pay minimum wage said they would lay off some employees if the minimum wage was raised to $10.10. 54% said they would decrease hiring levels” (Pro-Con). By raising the minimum wage, it limits the number of jobs that a company can supply for a group of 2.6 million people aging between 16 and 24.  A I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a

When the people earning minimum wage do not have jobs anymore, they are then reliant on the government for help. Laws that are aimed to simply pay the poor more sound like a positive idea, but in turn the idea ends up causing layoffs to the class that the law is intended to help thus making the law counter-intuitive. As the wage goes higher, George Reisman, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Economics at Pepperdine University, states, “their hours and employment decline, and the combined effect of these changes is a decline in earned income... minimum wages increase the proportion of families that are poor or near-poor” (Pro-Con). Reisman continues to talk about how the law will impact inflation by saying, “The higher wages are, the higher costs of production are. The higher costs of production are, the higher prices are. The higher prices are, the smaller the quantities of goods and services demanded, and the number of workers employed in producing them.” Reisman then relates that the wage change will lead to inflation of products and later unemployment. A I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a

    When the wage is raised, jobs are not the only thing that is limited. With a higher expense of paychecks each week eventually companies will start passing such costs on to the customer. Companies will scrape for every penny but commonly inflation is the simplest solution, as said, “A 2013 article by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago stated that if the minimum wage is increased, fast-food restaurants would pass on almost 100% of their increased labor costs on to consumers and that other firms may do the same. A 2015 Purdue University study found that raising the wage of fast food restaurant employees to $15 or $22 per hour would result in a price increase of 4.3% and 25% respectively, or a reduction in product size between 12% and 70%: "a hamburger would be much smaller," the researchers stated.”(Pro-Con) This statistic shows that when the companies are forced to pay low skill workers more; then they give less of a product and charge more for it. A I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I 

    With inflation in America, an economics teacher at Oxford, Pettinger says, “Inflation tends to discourage investment and long-term economic growth. This is because of the uncertainty and confusion that is more likely to occur during periods of high inflation. Low inflation is said to encourage greater stability and encourage firms to take risks and invest.” Losing these investments would devastate our economy; eventually, leading to the problem grows exponentially worse in a downward spiral. Also, inflation can regulate the competition that takes place within the economy. Similar, to communism the theory of everybody being paid close to the same amount sounds good but will not work in practice. 

Raising the minimum wage is a way for lawmakers to “bailout” those within lower class. A “bailout” is not what America stands for. Our free economy system should mean that government and business are separate. Within a free economy, the government should have a minimal say in what can happen to check the power of the government and to deter a corrupt system. But, raising the minimum wage is not the best way to help those struggling. One of the best solutions is a proposal by Ryan Paul, as described in a House Budget Committee draft, “would double the credit that childless adults receive as a percentage of their eligible income—to 15.3% from 7.65%. It would also lower the age of eligibility to 21 from the current 25, and raise the income threshold for receiving the maximum credit to $11,500 from $8,220…” (Employment Policies). This sounds better because a company’s budget is not held responsible for making up for the gap in skilled and unskilled jobs pay. In his plan, Paul states, “proposal would reach childless adults in poverty whose hourly wage nevertheless exceeds $10.10. It also circumvents another problem with using an increase in the minimum to reduce poverty” further proving that this action is better than the previous law proposals. 

For the minimum wage to be at the appropriate level it should be decided by the market. According to Per Bylund, Ph.D., Research Professor at Baylor University, “the federal minimum wage disrupts the balance of the market and prohibits the creation of new jobs.” Bylund says that when a minimum wage is placed it restricts our competitive economy. He says that companies should determine wage from the value of the work being done. This will open the market to have smaller jobs open that can add to the lower skilled workers resume. This plan will help the intended population better than just changing their wage and making it possible for those to who need help to work their ways to a better place. People who work for minimum wage can work for cheaper just to gain experience. When a lower skilled worker learns things and gains experience within a field; then, they can then apply for better jobs and ideally work their way up cooperate ladders without government help. If the minimum wage is decided by the market it will allow the worker to take their own future into their own hand. Then what becomes of their future is up to their decisions. A I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a I a

    All in all, a rise in the minimum wage would hurt more than prove beneficial. Sure, the change sounds promising at first glance; but, when the facts are laid out there are many negatives to consider. This law has an 18% success rate and could change the nations whole economy by stimulating the economy. But as the analysis shows above, changing the minimum wage will cause unemployment, closures, and more expensive living, which will lead, in turn, to cause major financial troubles turning your life into an ongoing nightmare.
