Hello American Samoa! We’re from the government and we’re here to help you. We’re going to ensure you earn a living wage by forcing employers to pay you a minimum wage equal to workers in the United States. Sounds great right?
I’ve written frequently about decisions that must be made when costs increase for owners and managers of business. Increased costs include mandated government minimum wages, and Ball State University recently published a policy brief on who lost the jobs when the minimum wage increased.
Yeah, don’t think so. So much for the increase in the minimum wage that happened in July. I’m NOT saying the increase in the federal minimum wage directly caused the problem, but the unemployment rate for the 16 – 24 age bracket now stands at 52.2 percent. Read more
Back in August, I wrote about how raising the minimum wage can increase unemployment since government mandated wage increases puts a strain on small businesses, increases prices and deflates buying power.
Today, Morrissey over at Hot Air brings us news of a new book written by a professor of economics and an associate director of research and statistics at the Federal Reserve Board noting how the working class is getting punished for the minimum wage hike enacted a couple of years ago.
Here’s another great new learning opportunity for readers. If you owned a small business that employed 10 teenagers, how important is the payroll line in your budget? A majority of teens make minimum wage while they scoop ice cream, mow lawns and work at fast food joints.
Many of these employees are paid more than minimum wage depending on the going rate in the area, but this morning I was reminded of the minimum wage increase that Congress passed and the president signed a few years ago. The minimum (federal) wage went from $5.15 to $6.55 per hour in two years, and you may be curious if that change could be related to the unemployment rate of teenagers. Of course it is. Read more