Is Minimum Wage Really a Good thing? - Timothy Bastian

Minimum wage is a touchy subject recently with the current situation of both the job market and the economy. In July of 2009, the national minimum wage was raised to $7.25 per hour, from its previous rate of $6.55 per hour. The issue here is if this hike in wage will stimulate the job market for everyone, including low-skilled and entry level workers. Since the stimulus, there has been rising unemployment and an increased rate of job loss.


There are differing opinions about the benefits and drawbacks to the boost. Those who support the wage raise believe that it increases the standard of living and helps to reduce poverty. However, those who disagree say that because it is so high, it actually increases unemployment, especially among those workers who have little experience or a handicap, preventing them from being highly productive employees. This leaves all the benefits to only those highly skilled workers.


While incentives do matter in life, particularly in the business world, the incentive of a higher paid job remains insignificant for those who lack the ability to perform the job. The minimum wage is absolutely hurting the workers it is designed to help. The unemployment rate for high school dropouts is 16 percent, for teens it's is almost 28 percent and for African American teens it's close to 42 percent! It is disgraceful to see these numbers and the minimum wage is partly, if not largely, to blame.


Yahoo recently published an article relating to this and I would like to share it with you http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091231/ap_on_bi_ge/us_minimum_wage_drop