[andrewjs18]

You will need to forgive me that I'm no longer amused by playing the Andrew Chase Our Tails in a Circle Game. And if you wish to believe that his parents business will close because of this, have at it!

for a small business, especially one that is struggling to make ends meet, a $2 mandatory wage increase is a lot of money.

so yeah, even though you might not think it's a big deal - and it might not be for the vast majority of businesses - it does have a negative impact on small businesses and unskilled workers.

sorry you made a statement, people have showed it does indeed make a difference and then you get all upset.

[Dave]

Ha Ha. Before you continue to wow me with your business expertise please take a second to recalibrate your Internet Emotion Meter as it seems to be off.

[andrewjs18]

Ha Ha. Before you continue to wow me with your business expertise please take a second to recalibrate your Internet Emotion Meter as it seems to be off.

I don't plan to wow you, but you're simply off base with your comments.

[Dave]

Oh, good because I was not even a little bit wowed.

But yes, as long as YOU think I'm off base on pretty much any issue I think I'll be ok.

[RugerGirl]

I'm wanting to say that the people who think minimum wage ought to be raised are, themselves, making minimum wage....or know someone very close to them who are.

Which is the problem in America today. People vote based on "Me" and "Now". Not "Us" or "Later".

[ExcelToExcel]

We should just make minimim wage $30. Itll be best for everyone. That is not at the start but eventually inflation will catch up employment levels will take years to recover that is until our dollar adjusts until minimum wage equals what is was 10 years ago. Of course employment levels havent even recocered from the last raise but hey so what..

[donotknowme]

If the minimum wage were raised enough would people then make enough money to get off welfare or would they just cut their working hours?

[RugerGirl]

If the minimum wage were raised enough would people then make enough money to get off welfare or would they just cut their working hours?

Define "enough".....

First it would decrease jobs, if a substantial increase in wages.

And yeah, people would just keep enough hours to stay on the free gov't paycheck. Why not?

You know.... Raising minimum wage is just a way to raise tax revenue..... Forcing businesses to give up more money to "help" people but then there's more money to tax!

[thebearpack]

If the minimum wage were raised enough would people then make enough money to get off welfare or would they just cut their working hours?

If a business is forced to increase its payroll expense with no commensurate increase in productivity, the result is less profit. Businesses are not charities and as a result business owners will generally not accept less profit if they can avoid it. They will look for ways to offset the decrease in profit by cutting expenses (trimming employee benefits, cutting employee hours, reducing staff numbers, skimping on raw material quality/quantity, etc.) or by passing along the increased costs to the consumer (higher prices).

So long story short, an increase in minimum wage most affects those who can least afford it by resulting in fewer jobs, benefits, or available work hours or by increasing the costs of consumer goods. Rather than getting ahead, a minimum wage employee will likely find himself with less purchasing power in the end, if he's lucky enough to still have a job.

All that said, minimum wage is supposed to be a way for unskilled workers to get into the work force and learn a skill, thereby increasing their earning potential. It was never supposed to be a lifestyle and it was never meant to support a family of four.

[panopticonisi]

you guya are forgetting one thing when saying increased labor expense will affect businesses. the effect is compounded by the price of materials and consumables. imagine the average business uses 10 packs of post-its. each pack of post-its is touched by 4 minimum wage employees on it's way to the shelves at office depot, where the business buys them. now, each pack of post-its goes up $2. now imagine every consumable product used by the business goes up in a similar manner.