Essay On Raising Minimum Wage

Minimum Wage: Should we Raise it? Minimum wage has been debated many different times from many different viewpoints, each with their own valid arguments and fears. But if we are to press forward in out efforts to solve this issue, we must face it head-on. The reality is that raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour would decrease poverty levels, support the economy, and would not negatively impact consumers as much as businesses seem to think. It is common knowledge that people living below the property line often work for low paying, minimum-wage jobs. Because so many of these people are dependent on these jobs for their income, increasing the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 could have an enormous effect on those living in impoverished

According to Brett Bastian, CEO of Blast Moba in Salt Lake City, “increasing minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 is doubling it. This is a huge burden to businesses, but the cost will get passed on to consumers” (ibid). Experts predicted that if wage increases follow Seattle’s example and gently curve upward, and four-to-five percent increase will be necessary to support the increased labor costs (ibid). To put this in context, the cost of a McDonald’s Big Mac is about $3.99 (McDonald Menu Prices). If this is increased by five percent, the end cost is $4.19— only a thirty cent increase. If thirty cents is part of the price higher wages demand, then most would be quite willing to pay for it. Cost increases for consumers aside, another issue surfaces— the belief that higher minimum wages contribute to unemployment. However, as of May 2015, employers in San Francisco must pay tipped workers the full minimum wage of $12.25 per hour before tips. Yet, the San Francisco leisure and hospitality industry, which includes full-service restaurants, experienced positive job growth that year, even after following one of the most recent minimum wage increases (Minimum Wage