Should Minimum Wage Be Increased

Having a larger pool of money to spend on goods and necessities may seem like an ideal situation that would benefit everyone. However, not everyone may realize the true extent of this change. There is an ongoing disagreement on whether the federal minimum wage should be increased or if it is sufficient enough. The federal minimum wage should not be increased because it will hurt businesses, not reduce poverty and raise unemployment rates.

Increasing the minimum wage would cost many employees their jobs, which as a result would further increase the unemployment rates. Many people are under the impression that a higher wage would have a positive impact on the economy and the lives of others. However, it will have a reverse effect instead. Increasing

The popular belief is that increasing the minimum wage will encourage job growth and repair the economy. However, a larger minimum wage promotes automation instead which results in a decrease of jobs available for minimum wage workers (Rensi). As automation becomes more popular, many businesses will begin to resort towards that idea in order to reduce labor cost. Instead of creating more jobs and helping those in poverty, increasing the wage would stifle job opportunities for teens and workers. “An extensive survey of decades of minimum-wage research, published by William Wascher of the Federal Reserve Board and David Neumark of the University of California, Irvine, in the 2008 book “Minimum Wages,” generally found a 1 percent or 2 percent reduction for teenage or very low-skill employment for each 10 percent minimum-wage increase,” (Rugy). Moreover, many people state that an increase in wage would result in an equal distribution of wealth among the social classes by, distributing income from business workers to their employees.(Sherk). However, a higher minimum wage does little to reduce poverty rates or redistribute wealth. The working class are the people who are going to have to pay that extra cost through their own pockets. Instead of helping low-income workers, they are affected negatively when they have to pay higher prices for goods and needs. Others argue for an increase in the minimum wage because they claim it would reduce poverty because the current wage does not allow people to afford necessities such as housing or to provide for their families. Although more people benefit from receiving a higher pay, it is at the expense of others who will have their hours reduced or even being laid off. As others are lifted out of poverty, many will begin to fall into it when their income falls as a result of having their hours reduced. “Estimates of the employment