Minimum Wage Hike Will Hurt Workers, Small Businesses
On February 10, The Arizona Republic reported the state's new minimum wage law had cost many teen workers their jobs.
Arizona lawmakers recently increased the minimum wage from $5.
15 per hour to $6.
75 per hour, a move designed to help lower wage earners support themselves and their families, but the end result has been fewer jobs for part time workers and lay offs and fewer hours for those who still have jobs.
We can expect this on a national scale once the proposed minimum wage hike to $7.
25 passes the Senate and gets signed in to law by President Bush.
With this law-and others-lawmakers have focused on the instant gratification of higher wages without considering the far-reaching ramifications of such artificial manipulation of the free market.
What happens when the minimum wage goes up? Well, the few unskilled workers who actually earn the minimum wage instantly see an increase in their pay checks.
That's stage one: the "feel good" part.
After the euphoria subsides, the reality of stage two sets in.
Due to increased payroll costs, small businesses often cannot afford to hire new workers.
Several businesses resort to laying workers off or cutting hours for their part-time help.
The businesses that do keep their existing staff levels are often forced to raise prices.
So, who wins when lawmakers increase the minimum wage? It's not skilled workers; they typically already make more than minimum wage.
It's not teenagers working in movie theaters; DVD rentals and movie downloads are already sapping profitability from theaters.
Small businesses definitely don't win; they are already struggling to stay afloat in a sea of "big box" retailers like Wal-Mart.
No, the only winners seem to be the tiny number of unskilled workers who actually work minimum wage jobs and have somehow never managed to earn a raise.
In 2004, that amounted to 0.
4 percent of all workers, or 520,000 out of a labor market of 130 million.
The rest of us pay the price.
We pay the price in lost jobs for teen and college-aged workers, fewer hours for teen and college-aged workers, higher prices for goods and services, and, in too many cases, fewer restaurants and retailers to choose from as small businesses fold.
There is, however, one group of people who come out of a minimum wage hike as winners: the Democrat and Republican lawmakers who pass this sort of irresponsible legislation.
Politicians come out looking like champions of the working man despite the real effects of their economic meddling.
When you start paying more for a hamburger or a theater ticket, when your younger siblings and friends are unable to find part time jobs, just remember who to thank.
Be sure to thoroughly enjoy that overpriced burger or movie; Lord knows, enough people lost their jobs and businesses to give it to you.
Arizona lawmakers recently increased the minimum wage from $5.
15 per hour to $6.
75 per hour, a move designed to help lower wage earners support themselves and their families, but the end result has been fewer jobs for part time workers and lay offs and fewer hours for those who still have jobs.
We can expect this on a national scale once the proposed minimum wage hike to $7.
25 passes the Senate and gets signed in to law by President Bush.
With this law-and others-lawmakers have focused on the instant gratification of higher wages without considering the far-reaching ramifications of such artificial manipulation of the free market.
What happens when the minimum wage goes up? Well, the few unskilled workers who actually earn the minimum wage instantly see an increase in their pay checks.
That's stage one: the "feel good" part.
After the euphoria subsides, the reality of stage two sets in.
Due to increased payroll costs, small businesses often cannot afford to hire new workers.
Several businesses resort to laying workers off or cutting hours for their part-time help.
The businesses that do keep their existing staff levels are often forced to raise prices.
So, who wins when lawmakers increase the minimum wage? It's not skilled workers; they typically already make more than minimum wage.
It's not teenagers working in movie theaters; DVD rentals and movie downloads are already sapping profitability from theaters.
Small businesses definitely don't win; they are already struggling to stay afloat in a sea of "big box" retailers like Wal-Mart.
No, the only winners seem to be the tiny number of unskilled workers who actually work minimum wage jobs and have somehow never managed to earn a raise.
In 2004, that amounted to 0.
4 percent of all workers, or 520,000 out of a labor market of 130 million.
The rest of us pay the price.
We pay the price in lost jobs for teen and college-aged workers, fewer hours for teen and college-aged workers, higher prices for goods and services, and, in too many cases, fewer restaurants and retailers to choose from as small businesses fold.
There is, however, one group of people who come out of a minimum wage hike as winners: the Democrat and Republican lawmakers who pass this sort of irresponsible legislation.
Politicians come out looking like champions of the working man despite the real effects of their economic meddling.
When you start paying more for a hamburger or a theater ticket, when your younger siblings and friends are unable to find part time jobs, just remember who to thank.
Be sure to thoroughly enjoy that overpriced burger or movie; Lord knows, enough people lost their jobs and businesses to give it to you.
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