Negative. Higher minimum wage means more money the company is having to pay each worker. Therefore less money for the company therefore more lay-offs and cut hours. If you think about it, it’s a fantastic concept but in the long run it may not even make that much of a difference.
See, let’s say they raise minimum wage to $12 an hour. Now I know that’s lower than what they want to raise it to but hear me out. So minimum wage is $12 an hour instead of like the average $7. That’s a $5 pay increase. Great right? Totally! You’d be getting $360 for a 30-hour week (if youre lucky enough to get those) instead of the usual $210. So that’s an extra $150 you’re making. Awesome!
Now, let’s say a company has 15 employees in one store. Odds are, they are not making higher than what minimum wage will be raised to. So let’s say that the general manager of the store stays on salary (since they’re usually on that) and the other 14 employees are making $12 an hour now. That’s $168 AN HOUR that the company is paying now FOR ONE STORE. That is great for us, but that’s a $98 an hour difference for the company. If everyone in the store works 10 hours a week, that’s $1680 a week the company is paying the employees.
If the company has 1000 stores, paying each store $1680 a week rather than $980 a week, that’s a BIG DIFFERENCE for the company. What happens if sales suck? Hours and lay-offs happen. Yes this will free up jobs but then companies are going to be more cautious about who they hire. You think they’ll take ANY kid off the street for $12 an hour? No! They’re gonna wanna see work experience, and if you don’t have it you’re gonna be screwed.
You gotta look at it from the company’s point of view…
They wiill only hire people with a bunch of experience nut the way to get experience is to have a job. It’s a vicious cycle.