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, 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 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>
*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
The minimum wage does not always increase. In the summer of 2017 in Missouri, the minimum wage actually permanently decreased from $10 an hour (which was scheduled to increase to $11 per hour in January 2018), to only $7.70 an hour.<ref>https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/minimum-wage-set-to-drop-in-missouri/ar-BBDP27V?OCID=ansmsnnews11</ref>
States have their own minimum wages, which can be higher than the federal minimum wage. As of January 2023, the highest state minimum wage was [[California]]'s ($15 per hour), while similarly [[Leftist]] [[Oregon]] $13.50 per hour) and [[Washington|Washington State]] ($14.49 per hour) were close behind.<ref>https://minimumwage.com/in-your-state/</ref> Studies show that increases in the minimum wage have the effect of discouraging young men from attending college, as they choose to be employed instead.
[[Democrat]]s exploit [[ballot initiative]]s, in states that allow them, to boost turnout for [[Democrat]] candidates by voters fooled into thinking that voting for a higher minimum wage would help them. In reality, a higher minimum wage means fewer jobs, and fewer young men going to college as they opt for overpaid menial labor instead.
More than 90% of countries—most of which have unsuccessful economies—have minimum wage laws. The minimum wage in the United States was most recently raised to $7.25/hr, on July 24, 2009. At this rate, a worker can earn at least $15,080.00 for the year based on a 40-hour work week, and more if he works overtime. The minimum wage is higher in many states, such as [[California]], due to state minimum wage laws. The national minimum wage laws are based in the powers vested in Congress by the [[Commerce Clause]].
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, opportunities 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.
Minimum wages also distort Rarely the equilibrium for non-minimum wage benefitshas decreased, potentially causing employers to provide less training, uniforms, opportunity for promotion, and pleasant working conditions, both as a way without any harmful effects. In the summer of offsetting their losses from 2017 in Missouri, the minimum wage increase and because the excess labor supply actually permanently decreased from unemployment lowers the disincentive for turnover$10 an hour (which was scheduled to increase to $11 per hour in January 2018), to only $7. A wage forced higher than the free market sets requires that additional money come from some other source70 an hour. 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<ref>https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/minimum-wage-set-to-drop-in-missouri/ar-BBDP27V?OCID=ansmsnnews11</ref>
==Economic views==
==Political views==
The left wing in American politics tends to [[Liberal]]s falsely present a minimum wage as benefiting the lower class by helping to lift poor people out of poverty. Conservatives [[Conservative]]s and libertarians generally counter [[libertarian]]s rebut 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.
Fiscal conservatives tend to oppose increases in the minimum wage because in a [[free market]], the price of labor, like any other commodity, should be set by negotiations between the buyer and seller without undue interference from the state. Conservatives oppose the distortion caused by a minimum wage in encouraging boys to drop out of school, or otherwise decline to go onto to college, in order to make artificially inflated and short-lived income at an elevated minimum wage. The fact that some in the lowest income bracket will gain slightly from minimum wages (by having their wages raised) while others will lose significantly (from losing their jobs) means that minimum wages can be seen as increasing inequality.
[[Socialism|Socialists]], and many economic liberals, disagree with this view of labor as a commodity because they believe it dehumanizes laborers by permitting companies to pay employees less than necessary to live a decent life, support a family, etc; see [[living wage]]. Even without legislation, the minimum wage as of 2007 is far below the lowest wage paid by most large companies.<ref>Alan Renolds, [[Cato Institute]]. ''[http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=5409 Below the Minimum Wage]''</ref>
==Empirical evidence from the 2009 recession==