Pros And Cons Of Increasing Minimum Wage

Increasing Minimum Wages: The Perspectives of Groups Affected

Introduction

Minimum wage workers across the U.S. are taking action for an increase in the federal minimum wage. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the federal minimum wage has remained at $7.25 since July 2009. A movement called the fight for $15 has heated up debates about increasing the minimum wage with economists and politicians working to find a solution to appease all parties involved. Employees in the movement have taken a stronger stand toward increasing the minimum wage, and businesses are looking inward to determine their response to their employee’s demands. Jonathan Yoe, an economist at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, explains, in basic economics, an increase

According to Target Corporation, Target made $26.5 billion in revenues in quarter 3 of 2022. Large corporations like Target are adaptable to a minimum wage increase in all stores because of their ever-expanding profit margins and excess funds from previous years. Companies like Mcdonald's, Gap, and Walmart increased starting salaries, not to the $15 level, but close, partly to buy some protection from strikes and protests against the low federal wage, notes Max Fraser, a scholar of American labor, cultural, and political history (95). The big corporations in America are already seeing the benefits of an increased wage and are willing to move in that direction. Small businesses, however, have a more complex situation. Hunter Chamberlin, B.A. and J.D. in law, explains that federal minimum wage and overtime requirements, as ruled in FLSA and DOL documents, create elaborate regulations that many small businesses lack the resources or time to dedicate to adhere to. The statutes outlining the rules of minimum wage employees are deeply complex, including multiple exceptions and niche differences. Smaller companies aren’t properly equipped to interpret the necessary regulations. As a result, any adjustments to the existing statutes will need to incorporate the needs of businesses of all

government to address the federal minimum wages, but its changes could have lasting effects based on the government’s monetary policies. The minimum wage increase can have deeply rooted effects in multiple country-wide economic shifts due to the government's financial policies. Glover and Mustre-del-Río explain two scenarios of the federal government’s possible action in response to the increase in the minimum wage: An increase that could cause rising aggregate prices leading to higher inflation and interest rates which may harm unemployment and prices (25-26). Glover and Mustre-del-Río also note if the central bank keeps rates consistent, increasing minimum wages will boost aggregate demand and help employment and prices (25-26). Increasing the minimum wage will cause government agencies to face many decisions that may have large impacts on the country's economy. The minimum wage, at its inception, was meant to help families out of poverty, according to Dallin Overstreet from the School of Public Affairs at Arizona State University. Now, the minimum wage seems to have less of an impact on poverty. Overstreet explains, “With such a small portion of the labor force earning the minimum wage and the majority of that small portion being young people who probably are not supporting themselves or a family, the underlying theory behind minimum wage seems to break down” (454). Consideration must be given to the problem the minimum wage solves, and