The minimum wage affects many people across the country. The minimum wage, being at $7.25, would barely put a full time worker above the poverty level $15,510 a year. The problem is, most jobs do not allow for full time positions often.

The minimum wage should not be increased because it would affect many young workers. Many kids at Blue Valley West are applying for part time jobs to help out their families, or earn some extra money on the side.

Increasing the minimum wage would decrease the number of total workers, and instead have more skilled workers at hand, which wouldn’t allow for students to be able to get a job.

The last time the minimum wage was increased, in July of 2009, Economist David Neumark of the University of California estimated a loss of 300,000 jobs.

“Competition forces businesses to pay workers according to their productivity,” economist, James Sherk said. “If companies pay less, their employees will jump ship to competitors. And if they pay workers more than they produce, they go out of business.”

There is a very fine line when it comes to the amount an employer should pay his/her employees.

For example, if McDonalds were to pay $15 an hour, they would need to change operations to deliver the kind of productivity to justify those higher wages. This would mean replacing workers with machines, and hiring less workers, but more skilled workers to maintain them.

Although some argue that the minimum wage should not be increased, there are many people who do believe that the minimum wage should be increased. For example, students at BVW aren’t the only ones getting jobs at minimum wage. There are many parents trying to support their families, and the minimum wage is making it very difficult.

States across the country are leading to push to raise the minimum wage, driven largely by Democrats, who see an opening to appeal to working class Americans.

Protests by fast-food workers demanding higher wages and collective bargaining rights have spread to 60 cities nationwide. John Schmitt and Janelle Jones, both economists for the Center of Economic and Policy Research, estimate that the majority of fast-food workers are at least 23, and only 30 percent are teenagers. More than a quarter of workers are raising at least one child.

Although there are many workers that are raising at least one child and working at minimum wage, increasing the minimum wage would be devastating for the country as a whole. Many jobs would be lost, and opportunities for young workers to gain valuable knowledge and experience would be lost. Research shows that early career experience is crucial for future job prospects and wage growth. America should focus on creating jobs, not increasing wages.