Raising the minimum wage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Raising the minimum wage - Essay Example should not be increased because this will main that small business, which are said to play a very crucial role in the USA economy will be affected negatively and this will have a negative impact on the economy. As Hasset and Strain (Para 15) say, it is â€Å"†¦.because it will make it more expensive for businesses to hire young and low-skill workers at a time of crisis-level unemployment†. The truth is that the minimum wage is a problem in the USA. With big corporations such as Wal-Mart and McDonalds taking advantage of the minimum wage to take advantage of their employees despite the fact that these companies can afford to pay better salaries, there is a need to consider this issue. However, the solution is not to increase the minimum wage for all employers, but to address the issue with much more wisdom. However, there are experts who do not see this is this way. For instance, Cassidy (Para 2) argues that he minimum wages must be raised because of two major factors. First the inflation rates have increased over the years while the minimum wages have remained constant. This means that the workers are getting lower pay than can meet their daily needs because the inflation has reduced the value of the dollars. While the minimum wage does not increase as fast as the inflation rate reduces the value for the dollar, the firms that sell products and services to the consumers increase the prices of their products as soon as the inflation rate has reached a significant level to affect their bottom-line. Secondly, he shows that the American minimum wage is so much lower in comparison to the other first world nations like those in Europe and in Australia. However, what people like Cassidy do not realize that that there are more complicates issues when it comes with macroeconomics. This has bee n addressed by (Finnegan Para 5). Finnegan (Para 3) argues that increasing the minimum wage is not necessarily a poverty panacea and that those who think that this will solve