Advantages And Disadvantages Of Minimum Wage Laws

By Marissa Velazquez


Without doing an in-depth analysis, it always seems that making more cash comes with only advantages and no shortcomings. Many people are however of the belief that making more money is recipe for bigger problems. This is what forms the basis of the debate around minimum wage laws. Most governments look to enact laws that legally guarantee that workers will be paid some minimum income, irrespective of where they work. From the point of view of the worker, being paid minimum income has significant benefits. However, there are a number of drawbacks as well.

Perhaps the biggest benefit is the increase in income for most workers. All workers will be legally protected and will earn some amount of money that is not dependent on the companies they work for or employers believe they should be paid. Without such regulations, there are employers that will take advantage and pay low wages that workers cannot survive on. This is especially so in areas with less jobs and thus people have no option but to settle for the low incomes.

Whereas there is no job that one can say is completely secure, workers are able to derive some form of security from such laws that guarantee minimum wages. Workers are provided with basic rights. They will know how much money they will be paid as long as they hold such jobs. Thus, uncertainty is reduced as people keep working with peace of mind.

People that are in agreement with these laws believe that by not being paid a given amount of money, workers will be exposed to sudden reduction in wages. Such workers can find themselves out of their jobs unexpectedly. It will become practically impossible to live off a single job.

Investments are an important aspect for the employed. However, the only way one would be able to do so is when they have an assured income and stable jobs. Thus from the perspective of the worker, investment becomes an achievable dream when jobs are stable and income considerable. As concerns businesses, they will invest more in productivity of workers. In other words, if businesses have to pay more for their employees, it will serve them more to train, insure and care for the employee.

From a macroeconomic perspective, these regulations will tend to hurt workers. The small scale companies or businesses may not be in a position to pay raised wages without incurring losses. In essence, they will be forced to cut down on number of employees if they are to stay profitable. At the end of the day, jobs will be fewer and people will be unemployed.

When companies are forced to pay incomes they cannot comfortably afford, they will resort to outsourcing for labor. This they do from other countries. Such labor is cheaper and thus affordable to them. Further, when wages are hiked, firms will look to compensate for the cost of keeping their workers in employment at minimum wages.

Minimum wage laws are good for workers more than they are for employers. This is especially so small scale companies or employers that may not be in a position to comfortably keep up. For people that are yet to be employed, it may not be the best piece of news as jobs will tend to be slightly fewer.




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