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 lawsare 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. Minimum wage laws are most often supported by [[socialist]]s, who typically ignore the concepts of [[entry-level wage]] and [[upward mobility]].In practice, what employers typically do is simply not to hire additional workers at all, and sometimes even existing employees must be 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>