Mimimum Wages

Try finding a plumber, electrician or auto mechanic who works for the minimum wage. Even if it could be done, would you trust your house or car to such a worker?
   Foes protest that raising the wage floor will prevent employers from hiring, and thus harm the very people it's supposed to help.
   Or they claim this only rewards the "takers," who don't deserve higher pay or more benefits, and that it will harm small business employers by cutting into their business.
   Both are mistaken.
   Employers have at least two options when the minimum wage is increased. One is to raise prices, to make up for the additional wage cost. Another is to become more efficient, in order to maintain profits.
   The economic Law of Supply and Demand does not fully apply when it comes to labor. In other areas, excess supply and/or lower demand would push down prices (read: wages). Or a short supply and/or rising demand would drive up the prevailing wage/price. But with the advent of labor unions and minimum wage laws, this core economic principle has been suspended or bypassed at the entry level. For skilled workers, however, the principle still applies. Quality costs money.
   In any case, raising the minimum has little or no effect on skilled workers or professionals, since they already earn at higher levels. Moreover, union constracts and market demand establish wage rates above the legal floor. The proposed minimum of $9 an hour will have little effect on those. It will, however, drive up the pay for entry level workers, and force employers to become more efficient in their operations, as well as encourage workers to become more productive at their jobs.
   Both will be a good thing, since the result will be better products and services as well as workers with more disposable income. In turn, the extra money flow will benefit the entire economy and all of society.