The Complications of Altering the Minimum Wage

Over the last several months in particular, there has been a national debate about increasing the minimum wage and the effects that this alteration can have on the national and global economy. This has especially been a focus of the 2016 Presidential Election. The easiest proposal that has been considered is raising wages, and therefore improving the costs of living. Take the Sanders campaign for example (yes I know lawl Bernie is mah fave).  The nation wide idea of $15 minimum wage has been a center piece of that campaign in particular. His emphasis on the need for fixing income inequality has led him to be incredibly successful in many working class states.

Cute cute cute.

But the real question is--does it really work? & how do we go about doing it?

In the last 10 months or so, and even in the last several weeks, a few states have announced that they will be raising minimum wages gradually to $15. Oregon, New York, and California are the first to announce these huge increases. While these will be done gradually, there are many concerns that are being raised along with the wages. See what I did there? 

Probably you rn.

That's the interesting thing. We don't know what's going to happen in this case. Because this kind of jump in wages (even though it's gradual) hasn't necessarily happened in our nation's economic history. While I would encourage all of us to be wary of these changes, but I would also add that it is equally as important to avoid passing such immediate judgement. It's a necessity to have a living wage to keep one's head above water and many people live below the poverty line in this country and this is sometimes out of their control. So despite the fact that I have no way of knowing how this will truly affect our economy, I think it's crucial to keep an open mind and an eye on these three states till the concrete increase in 2019. There may be many more states to come.