I’m sure that President Obama’s proposal to increase the minimum wage sounds great to many, if not most, of his supporters. Who wouldn’t rather make $9 an hour instead of $7.25? The problem, however, is that Obama does not seem to understand how such an increase would be implemented by businesses.
As one who has managed a payroll for several companies over the last 30 years, I can tell you that businesses cannot and will not be directed by the government to spend more in employee wages than they want to. If the minimum wage goes up significantly, minimum wage hours would go down accordingly.
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Very true. But so much of this president's agenda has presumed it could operate outside the laws of economics. Just as the health care law is making health care MORE costly, a higher minimum wage will lead to lower employment. But they care not about results. They want kudos for good intentions, and probably know that they cannot repeal the laws of economics.
President Obama's minimum wage effort was not intended to kick-start the economy. It is calibrated so two-wage families earning the minimum wage can have an income just barely at the Federal poverty level. Does it bother me if my Big Mac costs 23 cents more? Not really.
Will the number of employees at the minimum wage decrease? Probably. But service companies still need a certain number of people on the floor, and, surprisingly, most of those jobs pay more than minimum wage. Those jobs are unaffected by this proposal.
Aspire to a better job, not just raising up the salary at the bottom...people go to school to get jobs making $9 or $10 an hour...you arejust telling them not to try...adults should not be trying to raise a family on minimum wage...that is not it's intent...
There is no statistical evidence indicating that raising the minimum wage has the negative effects claimed by the writer, especially when as now, the minimum wage in real earnings power is lower than it's been in decades.
Ner: then why not raise the minimum wage to $100.00 per hour?
On what planet do you people who oppose a reasonable the minimum wage live? Thirty years ago, I worked an entry-level job that paid 7.25 per hour--good money for entry. My ex-husband and I bought a house in a nice Boston suburb for 69,900. I now make fifteeen dollars an hour as a professional with a terminal Masters degree, and that small house is worth close to 400K. Do the math; the wage/cost of living gap is out of control. Get out of your little bubbles and take a long, hard look at the reality of the avergae working person. It is not pretty.