The Pros And Cons Of The Minimum Wage

The Minimum Wage: Raise it or Keep it? The minimum wage has been a hot topic discussion item in this country for many years. It was an even more pressing issue during the stock market crash and the eventual re-build of our economy. It seems both sides of the aisle have their own opinion on the matter, and nobody is really budging on making a compromise. What needs to happen is a bi-partisan agreement on wages that supports workers and their families, but what businesses can afford. Raising the minimum wage to $9 per hour, or even a little more, is necessary to create growth in our economy and decrease overall unemployment. Opponents to raising the minimum wage have very strong opinions why we shouldn’t do it. The author arguing against a raise, “A better approach would be to simply start adjusting the minimum wage for inflation…(Raising minimum wage by 24%? Not now: Our view 2013). The reason this wouldn’t work out is that because we currently our living in a period of low inflation, that …show more content…
In the opposition article, the author says, “..artificially high wages cost jobs, particularly in a global labor market” (Raising minimum wage by 24%? Not now: Our view 2013). I side with Rep. Harkin on this argument. It seems that the opposition to an increase in minimum wage says that if the workers were paid more, businesses would be afraid to hire, or would be forced to cut jobs because of the increased costs in labor. However, if the employees who make more money, put that money back into the economy, the businesses would have the increased revenue to now afford the higher labor costs. If you help the lower class and low-income workers, the money will eventually find its way back into the