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The '''minimum wage''' is the lowest wage that an employer may legally pay their workers. Minimum wage laws are most often supported by [[socialist]]s and racists. While such laws

The '''minimum wage''' is the lowest wage that an employer may legally pay their workers. Minimum wage laws are most often supported by [[socialist]]s. These laws

are generally presented as being in the best interest of workers, as with the argument that if they can't pay you any less than a certain amount then you are guaranteed to get that amount. In practice, what employers really do is often simply not to hire you at all:

are generally presented as being in the best interest of workers, using the argument that if companies are not allowed to pay employees any less than a certain amount, then each employee is guaranteed to get that amount. In practice, what employers typically do is simply not to hire additional workers at all, and sometimes even existing employees must by laid off:

*The Employment Policies Institute, a business-friendly non-profit based in Washington, D.C., argues that "economic research has shown time and again that increasing the minimum wage destroys jobs for low-skilled workers while doing little to address poverty."<ref> [http://blogs.forbes.com/moneybuilder/2010/02/24/seniors-pushing-young-adults-out-of-the-workforce/]</ref>

*The Employment Policies Institute, a business-friendly non-profit based in Washington, D.C., argues that "economic research has shown time and again that increasing the minimum wage destroys jobs for low-skilled workers while doing little to address poverty."<ref>[http://blogs.forbes.com/moneybuilder/2010/02/24/seniors-pushing-young-adults-out-of-the-workforce/]</ref>

*In a study of over 600,000 data points, focusing on 16 to 24-year-old males without a high school diploma, the Employment Policies Institute found that every 10 percent increase in a federal or state minimum wage decreased black youth employment by 6.5 percent. [https://panampost.com/editor/2016/03/28/history-minimum-wage-harmed-blacks/ US History Shows the Minimum Wage Has Harmed the Black Community] - PanAm Post

*In a study of over 600,000 data points, focusing on 16 to 24-year-old males without a high school diploma, the Employment Policies Institute found that every 10 percent increase in a federal or state minimum wage decreased black youth employment by 6.5 percent. [https://panampost.com/editor/2016/03/28/history-minimum-wage-harmed-blacks/ US History Shows the Minimum Wage Has Harmed the Black Community] - PanAm Post

Like all market forces, wages are paid based on interactions between the supply curve (how much workers are willing to supply a particular type of labor at a certain wage) and a demand curve (how many workers of a particular type a firm is willing to hire at a particular wage). Wages are typically set at [[equilibrium]]. If a minimum wage is imposed that is above this equilibrium, it leads to structural [[unemployment]]. If a minimum wage is set below the equilibrium point, it is unlikely to affect that job's wage unless a complement or substitute job's equilibrium wage is less than the minimum wage (causing ripple effects throughout the related markets).

Like all market forces, wages are paid based on interactions between the supply curve (how much workers are willing to supply a particular type of labor at a certain wage) and a demand curve (how many workers of a particular type a firm is willing to hire at a particular wage). Wages are typically set at [[equilibrium]]. If a minimum wage is imposed that is above this equilibrium, it leads to structural [[unemployment]]. If a minimum wage is set below the equilibrium point, it is unlikely to affect that job's wage unless a complement or substitute job's equilibrium wage is less than the minimum wage (causing ripple effects throughout the related markets).

Minimum wages also distort the equilibrium for non-wage benefits, potentially causing employers to provide less training, uniforms, opportunity for promotion, and pleasant working conditions, both as a way of offsetting their losses from the wage increase and because the excess labor supply from unemployment lowers the disincentive for turnover.  

Minimum wages also distort the equilibrium for non-wage benefits, potentially causing employers to provide less training, uniforms, opportunity for promotion, and pleasant working conditions, both as a way of offsetting their losses from the wage increase and because the excess labor supply from unemployment lowers the disincentive for turnover. A wage forced higher than the free market sets requires that additional money come from some other source.  If employee benefits are not cut and the workforce is not down-sized, then the cost of the company's good or service must be increased.

==Economic views==

==Economic views==

[[Milton Friedman]] said that minimum wage laws hurt the very people they are supposed to help, that is, the people with the lowest incomes. In one example he gave, it was a form of [[protectionism]] designed to help northern textile manufacturers at the expense of textile workers in the south.  

[[Milton Friedman]] said that minimum wage laws hurt the very people they are supposed to help, that is, the people with the lowest incomes. In one example he gave, it was a form of [[protectionism]] designed to help northern textile manufacturers at the expense of textile workers in the south.  

==Political views==

==Political views==

The left wing in American politics tends to present a minimum wage as benefiting the lower class by helping to lift poor people out of poverty. Conservatives and libertarians generally counter this argument with statistics showing that every increase in the minimum wage has increased unemployment, especially among black inner city youth; see [[entry-level job]]s. It also obliges companies to outsource many jobs to China and the Third World.

The left wing in American politics tends to present a minimum wage as benefiting the lower class by helping to lift poor people out of poverty. Conservatives and libertarians generally counter this argument with statistics showing that every increase in the minimum wage has increased unemployment, especially among black inner city youth; see [[entry-level job]]s. It also obliges companies to outsource many jobs to China and the Third World.