The Young Lose From a Higher Minimum Wage

The Hill ^ | May 9, 2015 | by Jared Meyer

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Warm weather is coming, and with it the perennial student search for a summer job. Though often seen as an economic cure-all, minimum-wage requirements have the unintended consequence of decreasing economic opportunity for young workers and making that treasured summer job harder to find.

Over half of those who earn at or below the minimum wage are between the ages of 16 and 24, many in the hospitality and leisure sector. Since the majority of those earning minimum wage are younger workers, increases in the minimum-wage rate affect them the most. Negative effects extend into the future, because young people often use minimum-wage jobs as steppingstones to better careers.

Businesses have to pay at least the minimum wage, but 97 percent of working Americans make more than minimum wage. This is not out of the kindness of employers’ hearts, but because that’s the only way they can keep employees from leaving.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

“One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.”

- Milton Friedman