THE BOTTOM LINE:
There has been a lot of effort over the past several years to raise the federal minimum wage.
First there was the $10.10 movement and it appeared to be gaining traction among many business owners and workers alike. Then that movement gave way to those seeking $15 an hour.
Many proponents of raising minimum wage cite inflation calculators as one reason we should raise the federal minimum wage. While it is true that minimum wage has not kept pace with inflation, I contend that raising minimum wage will not stabilize the middle class or lift our brethren out of poverty.
Our nation, its’ economy and its’ people are too complex for simple fixes. Our economy is not held down by a single metric, nor are our fellow Americans stuck in poverty simply because of a single factor.
The original law (Fair Standards Labor Act of 1938) that created a minimum wage mandated $11 a week in pay. But it also set the work week at 44 hours. How many of us have seen a job with the following: 30-35 hours a week, must have a flexible schedule? Raising the minimum wage does not curtail the “full-time work, part-time pay” mentality of many of our nation’s employers.
Raising the minimum wage is akin to, as my grandmother would put it, “Putting lipstick on a pig.” It doesn’t address the lack of benefits, part-time hours, general morale or any other host of issues facing those it purports to help.
What raising minimum wage will do is set back the countless workers who have achieved slightly more than minimum wage? If you have an individual making $7.25 an hour and the government raises minimum wage to $10.10. What happens to an employee making $10? There is no logical or historical evidence to say that their wage will increase to $13 an hour.
The ones most likely to feel the pain are those they are trying to help.