To Those Worried about Small Businesses…

People continue to make arguments about how raising the minimum wage would have a negative impact on our society. One of the main arguments is that raising the wage would hurt small business owners and small businesses. Many conservatives agree with this, including New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. They claim that there would be fewer small jobs as a result and that small businesses would’t have the funds to support and pay their workers.

In reality, according to Think Progress, “The majority of low-wage workers are not employed by small businesses but rather by large corporations with over 100 employees.” This can also be proven by BusinessWeek, who has shown that “the three largest employers of minimum workers are McDonalds, Walmart, and Taco Bell.”

BusinessWeek countered the argument that raising minimum wage would hurt small businesses last February when they came forward and claimed that many small business groups are actually advocating for a higher minimum wage. Businesses such as the National Latino Farmers & Ranchers Trade Association, the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce, and the Main Street Alliance all support raising the wage. These businesses, many with over 500,000 members in which there are various small business owners, know that raising the wage should be beneficial, so we should too.

Similarly, a survey by the United States Department of Labor that was taken in July found that 3 out of 5 small business owners support a gradual increase in minimum wage to $12. The survey claims that small business owners say raising the wage would “immediately put more money in the pocket of low-wage workers who would then spend money on things like housing, food, and gas.” This stimulation of the economy would create opportunities and would be beneficial for society in general.

The point is, we should give the people what they want. The argument of raising the wage affecting small businesses can be debunked, simply because small business owners are on board with increasing minimum wage. We should also keep track of where the majority of the minimum wage workers are employed. Since most of the minimum workers aren’t working at these small businesses, raising the wage may have less of an impact on these small business corporations than we think, and may have more of a positive impact on the overall economy.

Buying Power and Minimum Wage

Raising the federal minimum wage in the United States would have national economic benefits for everyone. Increasing the minimum wage would result in workers having more buying power. Buying power is a fancy way to say spending money. Billions of new money would be flooded into the economy because of this increase.

According to RaiseTheWage.org raising the minimum wage puts more money in the pockets of low income people and families. Workers can use this money to buy different goods and services within their communities. These large or small purchases feed directly into the economy, benefiting all of those around them. In a study done by the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank, for every dollar the minimum wage is increased, about $2,800 is spent the following year. This massive increase in annual spending will increase demand and job growth. Raising the wage by only dollar leads to billions of new revenue. A study done by the Economic Policy Institute  says that for every for every $115,000 put into the economy, one new full-time job is created. After the federal wage increases, billions of dollars will be spent by new consumers. This increase in spending will create hundreds of thousands of new full-time jobs for various US citizens.

Raising the minimum wage would also vastly help the middle class. According to Professor Oren M. Levin-Waldman from the Metropolitan College of New York raising the minimum wage would “create a new floor.” Waldman means that by raising the wages of those at the very bottom, will subsequently push everyone above them up as well. He describes this process as a “ripple effect.” Data from 1962 – 2012 show that whenever the minimum wage increased, the median wage increased with it. Waldman continues on to say that the middle class has been shrinking because of the stagnant minimum wage. If the federal minimum wage were to increase, there would be massive amounts of job growth for the middle class.

As you can see, this increase in spending money for the people at the bottom would help everyone else in the meantime. Raising the minimum wage is good for everyone! #RaiseTheWage

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Opponent of Increased Minimum Wage

Contributor to Tharawat Magazine, Shereen El Agamy, wrote an article called “4 Reasons Why The U.S. Should Not Raise the Minimum Wage.” Agamy illustrates 4 examples as to why the minimum wage shouldn’t be increased and tells readers how increasing the federal wage would be devastating. Accompanying these reasons are very dramatic images; One of which shows burning money:

Why are Euros burning? Isn’t this about the U.S. federal wage?

I’m going to explain why these four reasons provided by Agamy are false and tell you how raising the minimum wage would actually benefit the American people. Here are the four reasons why Agamy thinks the US shouldn’t raise the federal minimum wage:

1.) Raising the minimum wage risks inflation and hurts the middle class.

According to Oren M. Levin-Waldmen, public policy and public administration professor at Metropolitan College of New York, raising the minimum wage would actually increase purchasing power for everyone involved, therefore helping the middle class. Levin-Waldmen’s research shows that in past years when the minimum wage increased, the median wage increased with it. The process of increases the wages at the bottom, travels upwards, like a “ripple effect,” benefiting those working for more than minimum wage.

 

2.) Raising the minimum wage hurts employment.

According to the United States Department of Labor  increasing the minimum wage has little or no negative effect on employment of workers. The Department of Labor argues that raising the minimum wage would result in low-wage workers would have additional money they could spend on different goods and services increasing demand and job growth.

3.) Raising the minimum wage is the wrong way to help low-income families.

The Economic Policy Institute says that 28% of minimum wage workers are parents. With more than 76 million children in the United States, more than 1/4 of these children’s parents would benefit from the increase in minimum wage. While this percentage varies from state by state, parents all over the country would benefit from the increase of wages. Such a wide variety of people would be affected by the increase that there would be widespread economic benefits.

4.) Raising the minimum wage doesn’t help the people you think it will.

This is one of my favorite arguments, because those who oppose minimum wage always say that the only people who would benefit from raising the minimum wage would be teenagers, flipping burger part time. This sentiment is completely  untrue.

As you can see in the graphic above, 80.5% of American minimum wage workers are over the age of 25. Raising the minimum wage doesn’t just help the teenagers working part time, it benefits every type of person.

 

 

Nearly 1M in N.J. would benefit from $15 minimum wage, report says

Check out how the people of New Jersey would benefit from increasing the minimum wage via Nj.com

According to Inequality.org The world’s 1 percent, almost entirely billionaires, own $42.7 trillion dollars, more than the bottom 3 billion residents of earth.

Why Raise the Minimum Wage? by UC Berkley

UC Berkley Labor Center shows us a number of powerful reasons as to why the minimum wage should be increased.

Raise the Minimum Wage to $15 Per Hour by MoveOn

Watch Robert Reich tell you why the federal minimum wage should be increased!