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Should Minimum wage be increased?
Introduction
For many decades now, there has been heated debates concerning minimum wages and increases in those wages. Most people have a tendency to assume that when the minimum wage is increased people will benefit. They do not stop to think of the consequences that come from minimum wage increases. The general population merely assumes that people should make an adequate amount of income and never stop to consider the consequences, nor do they stop to consider alternatives. A rise in minimum wages is not necessarily the best approach to helping the poverty stricken individuals in this country. The following paper presents an overview of various problems concerning raising minimum wage, finding that it is not the best way to deal with the problem of poverty.
Where Does the Increase Come From?
As stated, many people do not stop to consider the costs of minimum wage increases. For example, where does the increase in wages come from? It certainly doesn't come from taxes or government funding. It comes from the employers, whether they are large or small. In a recent California wage hike, one employer illustrates how the wage was paid:
"'I took the hit completely the first [two] times, but this last time I raised prices,' says Mickle, who employs eleven people at minimum wage in one store and sixteen in the other. 'That's how things work. If your costs go up, you're going to have to pass some of that along to the customer. You don't pass all of it along. But you have to pass some of it along - that's basically how I try to offset it'" (Laabs, 1998; p. 54).
Employers somehow must come up with the mone ...