Should we increase the minimum wage?

By Douglas V. Gibbs

A friend asked this very question, and told me based on the rising cost of living the minimum wage should not only be increased, but all the way up to $15 per hour.

Here is my response:

Aside from federal manipulation of wages being unconstitutional (no authority in the Constitution is granted to the federal government) wage control is a bad idea, and a large part of the problem.  Wages influence costs just like taxation.  An increase in minimum wage will increase the cost of doing business, and those costs will be passed to the consumers - increasing prices, and nullifying the whole idea behind the wage increase in the first place.  Low wage jobs are low for a reason. Those jobs, like entitlements, are not supposed to be a lifestyle, but a stepping stone along the journey of where someone is going.  If you want to make more money, work your way out of the low wage jobs to things that make more money.  It is called achievement, and it can be reached by hard work, a little luck, and a lot of doing the best you can even on jobs you don't like.  Being a good employee, even at things you don't necessarily like, can go a long way.

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