Between a Rock and Minimum Wage

I happen to be on this mailing list for Congress.org (always intriguing to see the lack of work those people can get away with and still give themselves pay raises) and came across a topic concerning minimum wage & whether it should be increased every four years. It wasn't until I started thinking about minimum wage that I realized what an interesting quagmire it presents. On one hand it is obvious that health care and energy costs have skyrocketed over the last few years, with even some increases in basic consumer goods and services, albeit not as substantial. These increases in turn make it harder for the lower wage earners to get by. However, it is common sense that when one raises the operating cost of a business, especially a small business, the employer must shift these costs on to the consumer in their prices. A rise in the prices of consumer goods and services is the basis of inflation, which one could debate that this country is on the verge of. Furthermore, many small businesses operate on a tight budget such that a minimum wage hike of 30-40% (I believe this is the proposed increase) could devastate many businesses.
How does one handle the issue of minimum wage? To grapple with this issue, the facts about who work minimum wage jobs need to be known, i.e. who and how many represent these minimum wage earners? Is it the neighbor’s kid who is just working after school and during summer to make a few extra bucks? Is it the single mom riding on the bus to her second job of the day in order to provide for her three children? I would be hard pressed to go against a minimum wage increase in the latter example as opposed to the former, in which the kid is receiving free rent and healthcare through their parents. However, if this example doesn’t characterize the majority than it would seem a minimum wage hike could hurt many at the expense of the few. I am also a firm believer that when it comes to opportunities in life, the lowest level attainable should not be worth hovering around. This drives people to go beyond complacency and to achieve goals otherwise not worth driving for. As we said on the fist day this blog was started, we hope to generate discourse and new ideas. The minimum wage fiasco is one of many topics that we would love to hear more feedback on.