Should the federal minimum wage be increased from the current rate of $7.25 per hour?

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The Federal Minimum Wage
The debate on whether the federal minimum wage should be increased has almost the same number of proposers and the people who oppose. Each group has valid reasons to support its view regarding the issue. The government has maintained the minimum wage at $ 7.25 per hour since 2009 (Desilver Par. 1). Proposers feel that increasing this wage would bring positive impact both at household and national levels while the opposing group, on the other hand, feels that increasing the wage would bring about a negative impact. The government should not increase the minimum wage because such a move would lead to increase in inflation rate, hurt the businesses in the country, and reduce innovation among the citizens.
After increasing the minimum wage, the country will have a lot of money in circulation because every worker will have more money to spend. When there is a lot of money in the economy, the prices of basic commodities will go up because people have the money to spend on such commodities. Therefore, the purchasing value of the money will reduce. The inflation that would result from such a move would not only affect the United States, but it would also affect other countries in the world because the US Dollar is the International Standard Currency. To avoid all this, therefore, the government should maintain the current minimum wage.
Increasing the federal minimum wage would result in hurting businesses and employers (Doyle Par.

6). The businesses will have to spend a lot of money in paying salaries. Such money would have been put to other use like opening other branches hence growing the businesses. Due to the increase in the cost of production that would come into play, most businesses may choose to outsource to other nations denying the United States taxes, hence hurting the economy. For example, most of the manufacturing of Apple’s iPhones happens in China because the cost of production is cheaper there than in the United States. The minimum wage should not be increased if the country wants to avoid such cases.
A move meant to raise the minimum wage would lead to a reduction of innovation among American labor force. The reason why many people result in entrepreneurship is that they feel that the wages are too low. They become innovative and try to find other ways of getting more income. Such innovations lead to the discovery of new and better products. Not only does innovation lead to improvement of the products, but it also leads to the creation of employment opportunities. With the increase in the federal minimum wage, every worker would receive higher pay, thereby increasing the family’s income (Cbo 1). With a higher income, most people would be content with what they get as wages and would not think outside the box. This would reduce innovation in the United States making it lose its title as the global leader in technological advancements. To maintain the spirit of innovation, the government, therefore, should maintain the current minimum wage.
As shown, raising the minimum wage would result in an increase in the rate of inflation in the nation, hurt the businesses operating in the country thereby hurting the country’s economy, and reduce innovation. It is imperative that the minimum wage is maintained to avoid the said situations.
Works Cited
Desilver, Drew. “5 facts about the minimum wage.” Pew Research Center, 4 Jan. 2017, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/01/04/5-facts-about-the-minimum-wage/. Accessed 31 Jan. 2018.
Doyle, Alison. “Pros and Cons of Raising the Minimum Wage.” The balance, 14 Dec. 2017, www.thebalance.com/pros-and-cons-of-raising-the-minimum-wage-2062521. Accessed 31 Jan. 2018.
“The Effects of a Minimum-Wage Increase on Employment and Family Income.” Congressional Budget Office, 18 Feb. 2014, www.cbo.gov/publication/44995. Accessed 31 Jan. 2018.