Not so fast on minimum wage

In arguing for a $15 minimum wage, Illinois Rep. Will Guzzardi suggests you’re either on the side of working-class residents or “big corporations.”

It’s not that simple. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most minimum wage employees work for restaurants and retailers with low single-digit profit margins. By raising starter wage labor costs by 82 percent as Rep. Guzzardi desires, restaurants and retailers will be forced to lay off staff, reduce hours or close altogether – as is already happening in places experimenting with similar dramatic wage mandates. (Stories can be found at Facesof15.com.)

Because of these economics, five in six U.S.-based labor economists believe that a $15 minimum wage would reduce jobs for young job seekers. Even left-of-center economists from the [Barack] Obama and [Bill] Clinton administrations have warned against such a dramatic wage increase.