re: If the gas and food costs keep rising, why shouldn't minimum wage do so as well?

-1+1=0. That's what I mean by "nothing". Minimum wage is a price control.

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-1+1=0. That's what I mean by "nothing". M

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Well gee, that's a great contribution to this thread. I thought there were only pros and no cons to minimum wage.

Not sure i follow you. Ideologically, I'm opposed to any and all price controls. The owner of a business should have the liberty to contract with his workers without any government interference.

There is plenty of misinformation and scare tactics on both sides of the debate.

1) Few people actually make minimum wage. Of the few jobs that start at minimum wage, most of them will move you off of it if you stay for any amount of time and show any skill whatsoever. Why? Minimum wage will get you minimum effort, and all except the simplest of jobs or cheapest of employers want to see more than minimal effort.

2) Because of number 1... a menial change in the minimum wage will NOT cause widespread destruction and layoffs.

3) There are, however, a whole bunch of people who make $9 or $10 per hour. If minimum wage is raised to $8.75 or thereabouts, it will be mostly a yawner on a macro stage. If it were raised to $12, though, the ramifications would be massive.

Why? An increase of wages can only be funded by

A) Price increases (which may or may not actually work depending on supply/demand issues)

B) Increasing revenue without increasing prices - which is not something a minimum wage employee can probably cause

C) Cutting hours/positions to keep wage expense the same

D) Taking money from profits (not likely to happen)

I remember when I was a kid, minimum wage was $4.75 when I started working, and I had a job making $5 per hour. The minimum wage went up to $5.15 an hour. Did my wage go up from $5 to $5.65? No, it went to $5.15.