To raise the minimum wage, or not to raise the minimum wage? That is the question! It's no secret that this question is hotly contested by the American public. One side says that the minimum wage should remain where it currently resides, at a meager $7.25 per hour, while the other side insists that it needs to be raised. And while there are good arguments from both sides, there are also negative aspects that need to be examined alongside the positive. To further delve into this economic dilemma, pros and cons must be analyzed from both sides to better understand what the economic impact will be to the nation as a whole. And by understanding the situation from multiple perspectives, well informed conclusions can be made. When arguing against raising minimum wages, a very common argument seems to jump to the front of the line on the issue. Why should a worker with very limited to no skills be given a pay raise? For example, according to an article from Bruce Horowitz and Yamiche Alcindor, a protest known as “Fight for 15” claims that fast-food workers, and other professions that only earn the minimum wage, cannot make a living solely off of it. …show more content…
So not only is the minimum wage lower than previous years (when adjusted for inflation), but the value of the wages also slowly diminishes over time even after the most recent wage increase. To try and combat this diminishing value, President Obama has tried to not only raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, but has also tried to have the federal minimum wage adjust with inflation over time automatically (United States). Another externality of raising the minimum wage is that those who do receive just the minimum wage will have more money to consume with. A passage from the Department of Labor on the minimum wage