MINIMUM WAGE......Bad for the Economy and America.

Who has the right to assign a minimum amount of money an employer should pay an employee? The government? By what authority? There are no provisions in the constitution that grant the government that kind of power. I believe that the concept of a "minimum wage" should be abolished. By eliminating the minimum wage, business expansion will open up, unemployment rates will go down, and higher compensation for good work will happen more often. Sadly, every business knows that the lowest production comes from the minimum wage earner. They are easily trained and easily replaced and work is not disrupted when even the employee with the greatest longevity leaves. Why, because the accumulated knowledge of the entire 4 months of employment can be taught to his replacement in 10 minutes.

I have worked for minimum wage in the past.  But it wasn't long before I earned a raise and was making more than minimum wage. If, ten years later, I was still earning minimum wage, who would I look to blame? My employer? The Government? Big business? No!  The blame would be mine. I would accurately be characterized as an unmotivated, unskilled worker.   Without a requirement to pay a "minimum wage", employers could hire greater numbers of young people to give them a start in the employment world and to help train in the useful skills they will need for the rest of their working lives. Dedication, loyalty, integrity, and self-confidence.  Nothing is quite as rewarding as being recognized and thanked for hard work. It motivates us to achieve and grow.

I believe that Market Forces will dictate the minimum wage.   The qualifications necessary to begin employment in an unskilled trade are minimal and so are the expectations. Employers should be free to hire these employees at any prevailing wage.  The motivated employees will work to gain new skills and demonstrate the qualities necessary for long term employment. Their contributions to the organization increase and so will their wage.  And long term employment at a living wage is entirely likely. The employer and the employee benefit from the new arrangement.

There is not one good thing that comes from raising the minimum wage other than the fact that it sounds so good to say in an election year - and so many people buy into the "feel-good" words - many people equate it to helping the poor or something.

Also by raising the minimum wage, most other wages will have to also be raised in relation to that. 

Ex. Lets say you own a small business and you have 10 employees

	Current Minimum Wage
Employees	per hr	weekly wage
3	$7.25	$870.00
3	$7.75	$930.00
4	$8.25	$1,320.00
	TOTAL	$3,120.00
	New Minimum Wage	weekly wage
3	$8.10	$972.23
3	$8.66	$1,039.28
4	$9.22	$1,475.10
	TOTAL	$3,486.60
Weekly Increase		$366.60
Annual Increase		$19,063.20

If you are a small business just getting by, how are you going to afford a $19K increase in expenses (this is just wages, not to mention taxes and other expenses).  You have a few options, you can let people go, but that increases the unemployment rate (which is one of my contentions of the minimum wage) or you raise your prices and hope you don't loose customers.  But if you raise your prices, then the cost of living goes up, and then you need another wage increase.  Do you see the vicious circle that will never end.  If you raise the minimum wage to $20.00/hr,  that $20.00/hr will  be the new bottom rung of the economic wage earners and the cost of living will have to rise to meet that new minimum.

Raising the minimum wage succeeds in nothing but political fodder. And these politicians shovel this food to the ignorant in the arrogant belief that they will be convinced that the Progressive Politicians care more about the poor, hard-working minimum wage employee. Instead, these politicians should try to show they care by providing an incentive for the miniscule portion of Americans that actually work for minimum wage to learn and grow and achieve.

Raising the minimum wage is an insult to those who have earned a wage increase over time, working hard and with learning new skills. How dare the Progressive Politicians discount the value of THESE hard working Americans.  Provide a business incentive to develop employees more fully so that the employer can increase the wages of their workers without another federally imposed unfunded mandate.

It is the goal of capitalism to reward superior work and find the most efficient and cost-effective method of producing and selling a good or service.  Instead the progressives are more interested in either giving people money for not working, or forcing employers to pay employees more for just doing enough to remain at minimum wage.  Eliminating the minimum wage benefits everyone.