I Believe The Minimum Wage Should Be Increased

@meJess: that would only be true if 100% of the cost of things were peoples wages. It's more usually like 10-20%. So putting up the minimum wage increases their income by a lot, but only pushes up prices by a little - resulting in more money for them to sell.

If the only thing that changes is the wages then that 10-20% is 100% of the reason for the increase isn't it? I still don't get it.

@meJess: because there are lots of people who are already earning more than the minimum wage - the people earning the least get more money, and everyone pays a little more for their goods & services. It's a mild redistribution of wealth from the wealthy to the less well-off, in effect.

Because of this, it also generates some more economic activity (because the rich dont spend all their money, the rest of us mostly do), which leads to increased wealth for the country overall.

but those people who already earn $15 dollars an hour for more complicated jobs will want more money won't they? So everybody wants a payrise, which seems good but doesn't actually mean anything because it just means things get more expensive.

@meJess: But with more money comes more purchasing power. Our system is driven by supply and demand. That's why the stats show that an increase in minimum wage actually benefits the economy across the board.

@Ynotisay: I still don't get it, if everyone earns more then the cost of things goes up to pay their wages and 10 buys what 5 used to, so no change.

@meJess: But you're assuming the price of everything goes up to pay for the increased wages. That's where supply and demand comes in. The stats show that historically that's not the case. The food industry is often the only one that will sometimes show nominally raised prices but that's dependent on the state they're operating in. "Tipped" employees are usually under different tax guidelines. And wages are only one line item for a business. Here's an example. Stats show that a higher minimum wage reduces employee turnover and increased productivity. And because of that the company saves in hiring, training and employee costs. It's all interconnected.

But at the end of the day, prices keep rising and the minimum wage doesn't. Our current federal minimum wage is $7.25. It would have to be over 11 bucks an hour to match the purchasing power, adjusted for inflation, of the 1960's. It's also important to remember that what 11 bucks buys in the South is very different than what 11 bucks buys in California. I think it's important to take a look at which major companies are fighting against an increase and ask why. It's impossible to predict the future but we can look at the past. And the past shows that a minimum wage increase is an economy driver.