There is no evidence that raising the minimum wage has a negative effect on the economy, but there is no precedent for doubling the minimum wage.

My concern is that it would hurt more people than it would help.  Prices of goods would undoubtedly increase significantly, and people currently earning over $15/hour most likely would not see an equivalent pay raise.  Also, what about the people currently making $15/hour after working years to get there? I'm sure hiring new employees starting out at the same rate would not go over too well.

One think to note is that the LAST TIME that the minimum wage was raised in PA was back in 2006. How many people have gone without a raise for 10 years ?  We can debate the amount, but is certainly past time to raise the minimum wage here in PA. 

 

IF we use the CPI index in 2006 vs 2016 there is approx a 12% jump. Applying that to the old minimum wage of 7.25 would put it at 8.12 today if JUST just using the CPI adjustment. 

 

"Secondly, by raising the minimum wage, we would remove many people from the welfare rolls.  $15/hr for 2000 hours of full employment per year comes out to annual income of $30,000, thus freeing more expendable income for those at the bottom of the food chain.  Simply put, they will have the ability to buy more stuff.  I'm a believer in the demand for goods and services is an economic stimulant, and not simply increasing the supply of stuff and services.  If you owned a business, what would encourage you to hire more workers?"


As a business owner, an increase in demand for the products or services you offer encourages you to hire more workers to satisfy that demand. Our manufacturing business started with 45 employees and in three years, due to increased demand for our units, we increased our workforce to 165 employees and expanded to a three shift operation.

Another construction business I was involved in started with 9 people, and over a 7 year period expanded to 62 people due to increased demand. That increase in personnel was not the only expansion. The company purchased more equipment, tools, materials, trucks, moved to a larger building, increased medical insurance for employees, and expanded into other aspects of the type of construction we are involved in.

If people have a solid job base, earning a decent wage/salary that enables the to have some money that they are able to spend on non-essential items makes for a steady workforce, a strong company, and adds to an expanding, robust economy.

All that type of expansion stems from providing quality products at reasonable prices to customers. Together, that is good for expanding the economy. Mergers, acquisitions, downsizing, and moving your company overseas is not good for the economy. That is my personal opinion based upon my experience.