PAY: No magic pill for entry-level workers
Re: "Minimum wage workers need a raise - to $15" (Your Voice, 7-20).
Jesse Griggs and his fellow $15-an-hour minimum wage seekers have been grossly misled by their understanding of basic economics.
Indeed, if earning $15 an hour would allow minimum wage workers to enter the housing market, we would be doing them a disservice, as there would be no incentive to simply get a better job. What will happen is that this new, bigger paycheck will be spent on costlier foods, services and rent.
Minimum wage is the driving force at the bottom end of the employment market. Any increase in cost will simply trickle up. Your net gain will be zero.
Meanwhile, those who already earn more than $15 will not be receiving any mandatory increases in their income. This will simply have the effect of increasing the number of people at the bottom of the wage market. Nobody wins.
The best solution for Griggs is to get a better job.
This story was originally published July 20, 2015 at 1:26 PM with the headline "PAY: No magic pill for entry-level workers."