The minimum wage was initially established to reduce poverty. Instituting a lowest pay level permitted in the United States guarantees that individuals are paid reasonably for their work and protects younger workers and minorities from being paid less than others. The current United States federal minimum wage is $7.25 a hour, and many argue that with increasing living expenses, the federal minimum wage should be raised, however, increasing base salaries can lead to inflation, fewer worker benefits and increased unemployment.
Raising the minimum wage may allow employment to decrease across the country and can even result in fewer jobs for Americans. Businesses must pay their minimum wage employees the required pay and if increased, some
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If the price of goods and services goes up across the board to make up for higher employee wages, it may not only negate the wage hike for low-income workers, but also unintentionally hurt middle-class Americans' pocketbooks, “If a company must increase the amount it pays its workers by several dollars, there is obviously a new expense that must either be absorbed by the company as the cost of using human labor or passed on to customers in the form of higher prices” (Pollick, Michael, and Harris). Employers might raise prices of their product in order to generate enough income to support their more highly paid minimum wage employees, which could ultimately create a ripple effect for other shops and industries, resulting in a slightly higher cost of living, resulting in another push to raise minimum wage again. Although a wage increase sounds good and it may increase workers morale, it could also harm their drive for self-advancement. This would further obstruct the chance of low-wage laborers to enhance their financial viewpoint,“Workers suddenly receiving $10 per hour might be less inclined to go to college or seek out a specialized job when they've seen their pay increase by 39% over the span of a few years” (Williams). This feeling of lack of concern is detrimental for the workers, as well as for employers who advantage from developing next to each other with their