Voices: 4 reasons to support raising the minimum wage
By Thomas Dowling, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign June 9, 2015 10:42 am
The minimum wage law makes good, hard sense, especially for college students. Here are four reasons why:
1. MINIMUM WAGE DOES NOT INCREASE UNEMPLOYMENT
The claim that minimum wage increases unemployment has been disproved in a multitude of economic
studies. For example, one of economic’s most commonly cited and replicated study, published in the American
Economic Review in 1994, shows that a minimum wage hike does not result in an unemployment increase.
In fact, many experts now support raising the minimum wage, including several Nobel Laureates and top
economists in the field.
2. COLLEGE STUDENTS HAVE THE MOST TO GAIN
According to U.S. Census Bureau, about 50% of college-aged workers are paid minimum wage. For full-time
students working a part-time job, raising the minimum wage would be a tremendous help, allowing those
students to devote more time to classes.
3. COLLEGE STUDENTS ARE LOW-SKILL WORKERS
Milton Friedman, a free market economist, takes a harsher approach to the minimum wage than most. In a
recent interview he said: “What do you call a person whose labor is worth less than the minimum wage?
Unemployed.”
Although that statement was intended to be an argument against the minimum wage, Friedman brings up an
excellent point about low-skill workers. College students are just that: students. With a college
degree, employers do not view them as skilled workers. In addition, students cannot demand high
pay because they lack experience.
4. BUSINESS OWNERS WANT TO RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE
Perhaps the best way to gauge whether raising the minimum wage is a good idea or not is by asking the
people who will be paying it: business owners. A recent survey conducted by the American Sustainable
Business Council found that small business owners — who make up a significant share of the U.S. economy —
“favor raising federal minimum wage.”
This response is motivated by two factors, according to the survey. One of the major costs businesses pay is
turnover: When employees leave, it costs a significant amount of money to train the newly hired
replacements. Higher wages would make employees less likely to quit their jobs, reducing turnover costs.
From a big-picture perspective, higher wages would mean more personal spending by workers. If workers get
paid more, they spend more. This spending would stimulate the economy and make businesses more
profitable.
Thomas Dowling is a member of the USA TODAY College contributor network