About 42% of American workers earn less than 15 dollars an hour accounting for the astronomical working poverty rates in the USA.
American business has always had a very primitive, barbaric view of minimum wages. Most tend to use the ancient and outdated paradigm all productivity gains should be gleaned by making workers work longer for less but from a macro economic perspective such thinking is myopic and can even damage their own business long term.
Work forces that are underpaid, wages below certain levels have worse productivity due to lack of motivation incentives.
Also in what is largely a service economy underpaying a large chunk of the work force depresses consumer demand, the very customer base such businesses need to grow. When minimum wages barely cover the cost of existence consumer demand decreases.
Most empirical economic studies find that minimum wages set up to 59% of the median wage— do not increase unemployment writ large but such raises do witness increases in consumer demand at significant levels.
A 15 dollar minimum wage would be well below that 59% threshold and would dramatically increase consumer demand and help alleviate working poverty.
Your post assumes that employers who think a employees work is worth 7.25 an hour will suddenly pay them double.
No, they'll cut their hours or fire them.
Minimum wage hikes have never been more than 1 dollar an hour. This MORE THAN DOUBLES IT. Yes of course jobs will be lost, tons of them, in fact. And these are the people that need the money the most in some cases, as they are poorly educated and sometimes illegals, felons, etc. But you're happier giving them a "minimum wage" they'll never make because they're now in the unemployment line.
Nice job, now they went from 7.25 an hour to 0.00 an hour. A liberals dream, because NOW they have control over that persons vote.
