Raising the Minimum Wage

This is one of the biggest controversies currently being debated and fought over in the United States...  and, on the surface it makes since for our federal government to force businesses to pay a minimum wage, but on the other hand, it offends some people that our federal government is forcing business to do what should come naturally.

However...  raising the minimum wage will benefit some but it will not benefit all...  and that is the biggest consequence that law makers refuse to deal with.

Some businesses operate with a small profit margin, unlike other businesses, and raising the minimum wage, would force them to lay off workers to keep their costs under control or raise prices which might put them in a position where they loose business.

Let's suppose that I wanted to open up a coffee shop and was confronted with a minimum wage increase by our federal government. 

What potential employees MUST UNDERSTAND is that just because I started a business does not mean that I started that business so that I could hire you.  On the contrary, I opened that business for one reason and one reason only, TO MAKE MONEY.  If I hire you, it is because I think you can help me make money.  If I do not think that then I WILL NOT HIRE YOU.

Many of my college students when I was teaching believed that business was out there and doing business specifically to hire workers...  and, that is not true...  they are out there to MAKE A PROFIT.

But, if I started this coffee shop and needed workers under these circumstances then this is what I would do...

First of all, I would look at raising prices which would force me to look at my competition to analyze their prices.  Second, I would reduce the amount of people that I initially wanted to hire, knowing I would have to pay them more than originally planned.  Third, I would alter who I hired, thinking that if I was being forced to pay more, then I would look for a more mature person and quite possibly someone who has been unemployed for a while.

While my hiring techniques and practices represent a small employer, they are basically the same for a large employer.  A large employer will typically have a fixed amount of money set aside for employees.  With a higher minimum wage, less employees will be hired.  It is nothing personal, it is just business.

And, if I have to pay more due to minimum wage, then I am going to expect more from those employees.  I will be more selective with whom I hire.