Should the Minimum Wage Be Raised?

Washington can’t seem to agree on anything, not the least of which is how to take in and dispense revenue.

The one thing that everybody agrees on, however, is that jobs are needed to help get the economy back on track. What they can’t agree on is how to get it done.

One of the issues that is a concern for President Barack Obama is the federal minimum wage for those do have a job. AOL Jobs reports that in his State of the Union address, the president spoke of raising it from its present rate of $7.25 an hour to $9 by 2015.

Obama said it was wrong for a full-time worker to earn just $14,500 a year — an income that is below the poverty level. The article goes on to report there is fierce debate on whether raising the minimum wage in a struggling economy will hurt more than help workers.

AOL Jobs cites a landmark 1993 study on the subject that reportedly found an increase from $4.25 to $5.05 an hour increased overall employment at restaurants by 10 percent.

Critics, however, say that money has to come from somewhere, and that it is likely going to come from the consumer. At a time when food prices are up, gas prices are rising and overall wages are down, it is likely to have a negative impact on the recovery.

What do you think? Will raising the minimum wage have a negative effect on our still-recovering economy?