Should Minimum Wage Be Raised?

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Recommended: Economic effects of raising the minimum wage

If you or your family were to go out into the world today and find an easy paying job you would be expecting minimum wage. Minimum wage has been defined by as the lowest wage, determined by law or contract that an employer may pay an employee for a specified job. For many this is not enough I know first had that it will help but it is not enough. For most of my college career my mother was the only one making more than minimum wage and it was barely enough.
Recently this subject has been in the news more than ever. Ten states are looking to raise the minimum wage price ceiling in their state to allow their workers to make more money. As stated before this is only the state’s minimum wage not the federal. The last time the federal minimum wage was increased back in July of 2009 it was raised to $7.25 an hour. However while raising the minimum wage may help it is only helping those who have jobs. Bob Pollin of Massachusetts said to marketplace.org “It’s not a cure-all to poverty, In fact, the biggest source of low-income poverty is that people don’t have jobs at all.”
If the biggest source to low income is fewer jobs why not provide small business owners, who have an economically stable business, the opportunity to expand their business and branch out. This is would be more like the old saying you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink it. By creating more jobs you are in turn granting the lower and middle class the chance to bring in money that they currently do not have. The Boston herald which describes a business’ input on the subject
As business executives and owners, we are sensitive to every factor that influences our ability to grow our businesses. No matter what some may claim, it’s horrifically short...

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...businesses will have to look for ways to compensate for the pay increase which if none can be found the only solution as mentioned on foxnews.com is eliminating jobs.
In conclusion if we can find a way to correct minimum wage to match the cost of inflation we could slowly solve the employment and poverty level in our country. But until then we must first focus on what we know for business is the law of diminishing marginal return and for the people it’s how to survive on as little as possible.

Works Cited
"Businesses Back Min-wage Hike." Boston Herald. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Dec. 2013.
"Businesses Brace for 'serious Cuts' as City Enacts Highest-in-nation $15 Minimum Wage." Fox News. FOX News Network, n.d. Web. 30 Dec. 2013.
"Ten States Raise Minimum Wages in 2013, but Impact on Low-skilled and Teen Workers Is Unknown." The Daily Caller. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Dec. 2013.

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