Minimum Wage
...ng about the situation of the poor people they are hurting. Most people are motivated by greed, and minimum wage is an effective barrier against this. Additionally, people also argue that a minimum wage will get employers to get more out of their workers. Since an employer has to pay a worker a certain salary, they will make sure that they get a certain level of productivity out of that worker. This will mean that many people won’t be doing a job that only needs a few people to do. Again, people will take pride in their jobs and be able to make a decent salary. On the opposite side, it is argued that a minimum wage will increase unemployment. If employers have to pay more for their employees, they won’t be able to afford to hire as many employees. Therefore, minimum wage could be seen to be actually hurting the poor rather than helping them. According to the article, “Sense and Nonsense on the Minimum Wage”, minimum wage increases unemployment, “Based on the pattern of aggregate employment, we estimate that during the year of the $3.80 hourly minimum, 4.8 percent fewer teenage men were employed than would have been if the $3.35 minimum had been retained. The corresponding reductions for teenage women and teenage blacks are 6.6 percent and 7.5 percent, respectively; while for adults who did not finish high school, the reductions are 1.5 percent, 2.5 percent, and 4.4 percent, for men, women, and blacks, respectively.” From this study it can be seen that minimum wages increases unemployment for teenagers, men, women, and blacks, across all types of people. It seems that the low-skilled and poor workers, across all classes and races, will fine themselves without a job with an increase in the minimum wage. Additionally, it is argued that a minimum wage will cause employers to switch to cheaper resources from abroad, to keep prices down, and this could have a negative impact on the entire economy. The article “Sense and Nonsense on the Minimum Wage” states, “Our conclusion is simple and direct: to the extent that increased minimums raise the cost of hiring low-productivity workers, fewer of those workers will be employed.” However, these conclusions are not entirely reliable. Some studies show that minimum wages don’t actually increase unemployment. The article “Sense and Nonsense on the Minimum Wage” did admit, “From discussions with some 500 fast-food outlet managers in three states, the authors are will...