• Some economists and pundits argue that a minimum wage could have negative effects on the economy.money in hand image by Bruce MacQueen from Fotolia.com
  
  The federal government and each state's government set "minimum" wages that establish a threshold to the amount a worker must be compensated for her service. Although conventional wisdom might suggest this is a beneficial arrangement for workers, there are a number of arguments against the continuation of the minimum wage, specifically in the case of unskilled workers.
  
  

Basic Arguments

• The arguments made against a minimum wage are varied. According to Balanced Politics, the main points of contention are that the minimum wage can cause companies to move jobs to other countries, that it will drive small companies out of business, and that it prevents the most unskilled of workers from participating in the economy.
  
  

Effects on Productivity

• Bloomberg columnist Kevin Hassett qualifies this in a 2005 editorial, where he explains that higher minimum wages can have negative effects on young or unskilled workers. He asserts that certain jobs--those which require nominal skill sets--will simply cease to exist because of the minimum wage mandate.
  
  Mark J. Perry of The Wall Street Pit points out that employers will often counteract increased labor costs brought about by an increased minimum wage by charging for formerly free items, such as uniforms and meals, or by getting rid of benefits like paid vacation or medical insurance. He concludes that employers "will respond to increases in the minimum wage in many ways that will not show up in the teenage unemployment rate, but still to the disadvantage of unskilled workers."
  
  

The Larger Picture

• Hassett suggests that a percentage of unskilled workers will be unable to become or remain employed, which can have long-term effects on their productivity and, on a larger scale, that of the economy of the whole.
  
  Jeff Jacoby of "The Boston Globe" explains this further. "Minimum-wage laws don't make low and unskilled Americans more productive, more experienced, or more desirable," he asserts. "They merely make them more expensive--and more likely, therefore, to be unemployed."