On Thursday morning, September 4, 2014, I was watching the Today Show while running on my treadmill when they shared a brief story about a protest at a McDonald’s in Detroit, Michigan. This sparked my interest and I wanted to know more so I found an article online from the local CBS station in Detroit. You can view this article here.
The demonstration at the Detroit McDonald’s was a minimum wage protest. About 200 protestors had gathered at the restaurant carrying signs and demanding higher wages. They had initially been picketing on both sides of the street but eventually ended up moving into the street, locking arms and preventing traffic from passing. Thirty of the protestors were arrested and taken away in handcuffs.
This group was part of a national effort to increase the minimum wage in fast food restaurants to $15 per hour. I know this heated discussion resurfaces often in political debates but it recently gained even more attention from comments made by President Obama on Labor Day. He supports increasing the minimum wage.
It is my understanding that minimum wage is designed to be an entry-level wage, a wage for those who are just starting out in the work place. These jobs generally don’t require any specific skills. High school students who are getting their first experiences with work make minimum wage. It is not designed to be a wage that will support a household.
If minimum wage were increased to such an extreme degree (from $7.25 currently to $15.00), what motivation would young people have to get an education or gain a skill that would improve their situation? Would raising the minimum wage encourage the sense of entitlement that seems to be sweeping the nation? Would small businesses be able to pay their employees a higher wage or would they end up closing their doors because they cannot afford to operate? Would increasing the minimum wage cause prices to go up and would the value of the dollar decrease even more? These are just a few questions that arose when I read thought more about this observation.
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