Raising the U.S. minimum wage to $10/hour is a bad idea

Con has essentially dropped all of my arguments and attempts to make this a discussion of which political side is better.As I have pointed out, states with higher minimum wages have worse unemployment rates and those with lower minimum wages have better unemployment rates. I have also demonstrated that despite doubling the minimum wage from 1983-2009 the poor got poorer and the rich got richer. I cited a CBO report showing that the minimum wage will harm U.S. jobs. All of this is commonsense. If you boost the minimum wage too high then the result will be job losses. You can have high employment or high minimum wages, you cannot have both. Job loss will occur for the following reasons:1. OutsourcingThe Problem: Jobs will go where labor is cheapest, that is why China is growing so rapidly. By using no minimum wage coupled with free trade agreements they have become the world's manufacturing hub. If you look at the mouse you are clicking, the shirt you are wearing, the chair you are sitting on; odds are they will say "Made in China." The major expense for many companies is payroll, in fact it can make up over half a company's expenses in industries such as healthcare and education.[1] Therefore the easiest way for a company to increase profits is to fire workers or pay them less.[2] If you increase the U.S. minimum wage too high it will force even companies who want to hire U.S. workers to send jobs overseas in order to stay in business. The Solution: The solution is not a minimum wage increase but to stop trading with low minimum wage countries such as China and Mexico.2. AutomationThe Problem: As previously pointed out, McDonalds has reacted to the minimum wage hike by replacing cashiers with machines. The more the minimum wage is raised the more companies will look to cut back on their workforces in favor of cheaper machines. The Solution: Tax breaks for companies who hire more U.S. workers in relation to company earnings would result in more hiring of U.S. jobs. 3. Small Business DestructionSmall businesses account for roughly 70% of all U.S. employment.[4] Small businesses do not have the resources to outsource to low minimum wage countries or replace workers with machines; many small businesses are struggling from day to day barely making ends meet. A minimum wage hike can be the straw that breaks the camel's back for these small businesses, the vast majority of which have less than 10 employees.[5]4. Part-Time IncreaseCompanies will increasingly move to part-time jobs to avoid the higher costs under an increased minimum wage. Even federal agencies like the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Postal Service are increasingly hiring part-time workers since the 2007 minimum wage hike.[6] Ironically this forces workers to work harder and more intermittently without the benefits of overtime or benefits, because full-time work is becoming too expensive for even the government to hire with. Similarly, part-time jobs are replacing full-time because of the increased healthcare costs required of employers.[7]Minimum Wage Hikes Linked to RecessionsIn November 2006 the Democrats achieved a massive victory, taking over both chambers of Congress for George W. Bush's last two years.[8] One of the first things on their agenda was a massive increase of the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour. Republican Jeb Hensarling warned them on the floor of Congress that they would spark a recession by doing so, and less than a year later the recession hit.[9]Similar increases in the U.S. minimum wage have been quickly followed by recessions like the 2007 minimum wage hike was. For example, when the minimum wage was hiked from $3.35 to $4.25 from 1990-91 it was quickly followed by a recession.[10] The previous minimum wage increase before that from $2.30-$3.35 from 1978-1981 also perfectly coincided with a major recession in the United States.[11] The major minimum wage hike before that, from $1.60 to $2.30 occurred from 1974-76, and coincided with the 1973-75 recession.[12]Inflation As a Result of the Minimum WageThe logical result of a minimum wage increase is that cost of goods will go up. With higher hourly costs for gas station workers will come higher prices of gas. If grocery store workers cost more, so too will groceries. The inevitable result will be that businesses pass the higher costs on to consumers. One Seattle business has even gone so far as to reflect this price increase on their receipts.[13]As a result, cost of living will increase. The poor will have more dollar bills but everything they buy will cost more as well. Furthermore, CEOs will react by increasing their own pay as well, which is why the poor keep getting poorer and rich richer. A minimum wage increase does not stop CEOs from firing workers or paying themselves more. The Federal Reserve will print more dollars to reflect demand, so that dollars become worth less. Thus all that has been achieved is changing the value of the dollar, the poor do not have a higher percentage of the wealth. If one really wanted to help the poor they should get to the root causes of why the poor are poor, such as job loss due to automation and outsourcing. I already provided specific solutions that would help the poor. One should likewise restrict CEO pay either through capping CEO pay in relation to the average worker or mandatory shareholder voting on CEO pay at publicly traded companies. Sources:[1] http://tinyurl.com...;[2] http://tinyurl.com...;[3] http://tinyurl.com...;[4] http://tinyurl.com...;[5] http://www.census.gov...;[6] http://tinyurl.com...;[7] http://tinyurl.com...;[8] http://www.nytimes.com...;[9] http://books.google.com...;[10] http://en.wikipedia.org...;[11] http://en.wikipedia.org...;[12] http://en.wikipedia.org...;[13] http://tinyurl.com...;