Minimum Wage

Yesterday, John Combest linked to a KOMU article about minimum wage and its effects on the youth work force. As the minimum wage increases, businesses must make tough decisions about their capital allocations to labor, which disproportionately hurts younger employees. The Show-Me Institute’s executive vice president, Dr. Joseph Haslag, was quoted in the article, explaining the effects of minimum wage on younger workers:

Haslag said the government is manipulating the market by increasing the hourly wage employers [must pay]. This forces employers to hire less people and cut hours. This hurts the younger workforce because they are usually the most inexperienced and least productive.

Minimum wage policies are detrimental to the economy, entailing another cost for employers that increases prices and eliminates both jobs and work hours. Younger and lower-skilled workers bear the brunt of this cost. For further reading about the minimum wage, there are relevant Show-Me Daily blog posts and articles by other Show-Me Institute scholars.