Saturday, June 21, 2014

The Truth About Minimum Wage

When I see my friends on Facebook celebrating the rise of the minimum wage in Seattle, I have to cover my eyes and sigh to myself.  I love my friends, but I wish they realized that this isn’t really something to celebrate.  The rise in minimum wage can lead to more harm than good.  Reports from Fox News already shows that there are many business that recognize the danger.  This is a good sign, as it shows that many business owners may already have comprehended the meaning of the one lesson of economics.
            The City Council of Seattle only see that if the minimum wage is increased, then workers will make and receive more money.  While they may be receiving an actual higher amount of money, the value of that money will not increase, because the cost of living in Seattle will increase.  Remember that pizza you ordered from Pizza Hut last week?  Instead of paying $16, it now costs you $40, for that same one pizza.  The article posted by Fox News even goes on to say that “customers will be able to easily go outside the city for better pricing”.
            What the City Council also doesn’t consider is that the increase of minimum wage will actually decrease the level of employment, as businesses will no longer be able to afford to pay their workers.  Fox News quoted David Goldstein, who runs his own blog, saying, “If some jobs are lost, but we lift tens of thousands of low-wage workers out of poverty, that’s a net plus in the long run.”  Sorry to say, David, but there will actually be more people in poverty due to the minimum wage increase because, as stated before, the cost of living will increase, and more people will lose their jobs, with most of them being unable to find a new job as employers do not want to pay a $15 minimum wage.

            It’s very obvious that there are many people out in the world who do not understand the one lesson of economics.  What’s more depressing is that these people are running our cities our country.  Why are these people making decisions that we obviously know are wrong on every level?  The City Council wishes to help the people of Seattle, but are doing it in the worst way possible, as those people will just be hurt more.  More cities will vote for a minimum wage increase, such as San Francisco in November.  Hopefully the people there will be able to recognize the horrible consequences in Seattle and use that to influence their vote.

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