This morning I was reviewing all the benefits of an increased wage because it seems that the local news focuses on myths about the minimum wage. One of those myths is that the people working for the minimum are nothing but a bunch of high schoolers looking for extra pocket money. That isn't even close to being true. Even if it were it would be a poor excuse for a low minimum wage.
Look at it this way. Just because someone is a person of youth is no reason to rip them off on wages. Just because someone is being supported by their parents is no excuse for giving them a raw deal. What kind of message does that send to our youth, the message that it is okay to devalue people so they can be stolen from. That's what it is too. A form of wage theft.
Furthermore, and along the same lines, it is a poor economic choice to pay someone less just because they are a youth. What do youth do with their money? The majority of them spend it. If anyone lives paycheck to paycheck it is a high schooler, living with their parents, with a part time job. So if at one wage level they afford X amount of money for pizza, movies and whatever, they will afford XX amount of money if they are paid more. There would be double the kids in shopping malls spending twice as much. All of which requires people on the job to serve them. Jobs!
Realistically though, high schoolers are not the majority of minimum wage earners. A lot of them are people with bills to pay, and are of all ages. If they had more money to spend they would create jobs. The vast middle class and poor are the job creators. Let them do their job by giving them a living wage.
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