Should the minimum wage be raised to $15 an hour? It has been an ongoing debate for the past several years, but lately, this debate has become more of a reality. Just a few days ago, I came across an article in the Press Republican that again raised this question. It was called, “New Minimum wage Law Impacts Extension” The Article announced that within the next two years Clinton County New York will have a minimum wage of $15 an hour.
There are many mixed opinions on this topic, some who believe that everyone who works full time should be able to live off their job and that it’s only fair, while there are others who believe this minimum wage will hurt the economy. I believe It will hurt the economy and here are three reasons why:
It will just raise the price of everything.
When the price of something gets raised, local business have to make up the cost some how. This will most likely be through raising the cost of products and services on the consumer. If this trend continues you can almost bet that it will result in the cost of everything being higher, making earning 15 dollars an hour seem pointless.
It will just create a new low.
Unfortunately the one thing about capitalism is that it’s all about competition and having more than the person next to you. Just think if everyone won the lottery and became millionaires tomorrow would winning the lottery seem so special or even matter? By making the minimum wage 15 dollars an hour you are making 15 dollars an hour a new low. Those who were making 15 dollars an hour before this wage increase are now making minimum wage when beforehand they were making what many would think a decent amount.
It will help lay some people off.
With the progression of technology, it’s only a matter of time that more jobs are going to be outsourced robots. With this new minimum wage law comes new motivation for business owners to do so. According to an Article in Forbes magazine called “The Minimum wage kills jobs through automation bit by bit.” Many business owners and companies such as McDonald's are turning to automation to make up for the ore expensive cost of labor.
