Minimum Wage Increase Has Pros, Cons

Minimum wage is a topic of extreme controversy at this point in time.

Every day people are discussing within their communities whether raising the average paycheck is worth the fallbacks and whether it is even necessary for their state.

There are several good arguments for and against the idea. I am personally stuck in between.

I see the benefits of raising minimum wage to $15.

My favorite arguments in favor of such an act are that families would be able to support themselves better, there would be more training and higher skilled employees and most importantly it could boost a city’s economy with everyone spending making and spending more money.

I do not believe that any family should have to survive off of such a small paycheck.

However, that said, I do on the other hand believe that no adult should be working in a position of such a small income while supporting a family.

The mass majority of all low wage jobs are fast food restaurants, which make sense seeing as the employees are simply warming up food and serving it.

These positions make wonderful first jobs because they teach responsibility and give good work experience, making them perfect for teenagers.

They are not positions meant to be held by adults, which is why it makes sense that they may have lower wages.

Now I understand that sometimes people who are new to the country or need a boost towards a new jobs may take on work like this.

It is situations like these that make me question whether maybe it should indeed be raised. I picture an immigrant struggling with the new language and think to myself, it is just not fair.

Economically, yes it would be important to raise minimum wage to $15 because people would spend more when they had more money to spend and they are much more likely to do things like go out to dinner, catch a movie or purchase a home.

There would also be the possibility of the economy suffering.

With a higher wage, companies with lower budgets would suddenly have to have fewer employees, causing a loss of many workers and a raise in unemployment.

It would additionally make it much harder for young workers to get jobs.

A company paying $15 an hour for someone to work is not going to want to hire a first-time employee with no work experience. They will want to pay for someone who has had a similar position in the past or knows about the job more than the average person.

Although the people would be making more money, they would be limiting so many people from even being able to get a job or keeping the job they have now.

I believe that raising minimum wage would have a very negative effect on the United States and that we will be better off without it.

Our future is more important than this very moment in time, and raising minimum wage to have a higher paycheck today, will be regretted when we have fewer job opportunities tomorrow.