The minimum wage should be raised

The purpose of the minimum wage is to help those disenfranchised workers who earn far less than what most Americans would consider acceptable. However, raising the minimum wage will only hurt those same marginalized workers. This is because you force those disenfranchised workers to compete with more qualified workers. Consider this, you are an immigrant who has just moved to the United States. You are largely unfamiliar with the language, culture, or customs of the United States. You need a job now so you can support yourself, learn the language, and acquire the skills you will need to advance in the world. However, you are now competing in the American Job market for limited spots. Native Born Americans have every advantage compared to you. Their more accustomed to the country, know the language better, and are probably more skilled than you in a specific job market. How than can you convince an employer to hire you over a native born American? Simple, you offer to work for less. By working for less than the American worker, you can acquire a job to support yourself and slowly acclimate yourself to the country. Eventually, you will become more skilled and move into higher paid occupations, and even if you don't, your children will be able to. This has been the path of the immigrant for hundreds of years. The Chinese, Japanese, Italians, and Jews to name a few are all immigrants who came to America with little to nothing and were able to make a better life for their kids by initially working and living in what we would call today egregious conditions. Although the conditions of some immigrants today might seem appalling, it is better than the alternative of unemployment. In addition, even the poor in America live comfortably compared to most of the world. For many immigrants, half the standard of living of the average American would seem well off to them. By instituting a high minimum wage, you essentially force these immigrants to compete with native born Americans at the same wage. While the native born Americans might enjoy a higher wage, the immigrants lose the chance at a job and a better life. This detrimental effect of the minimum wage is not limited to immigrants. Any worker who lacks skills or qualifications to compete at a higher wage is hurt by the minimum wage. One of the biggest effects of the minimum wage is teenage unemployment. Teenagers lose jobs for the very same reason immigrants do. On average, they are less mature and skilled than 20 and 30 year old workers. Therefore, if an employer has a choice, he will always choose the older worker. In order to gain employment, teenagers must incentivize the employer to hire them by working for less. Once they get the job they will attain maturity and on the job training that will allow them to obtain higher paying jobs. However, if they are forced to compete with older workers at a higher wage, they will lose jobs and not obtain the skills to succeed later in life. The minimum wage is particularly devastating to black communities living in poverty. After they are given a terrible education with high illiteracy and drop out rates, black teenagers are thrust into a potentially racist job market. With a lack of experience, education, and potential racism, black teenagers are extremely disadvantaged when competing for a job. However, if they can get a job working for less, they are are able to again acquire skills and on the job training that will lead to more profitable jobs. A minimum wage forces black teenagers to compete with privileged white workers at higher wages, and forces them out of a job, keeping them in a cycle of poverty. The high black teenage unemployment rate is not a legacy of slavery. In fact, black teenage unemployment was lower than whites as far back as 1920. It is only recently that black unemployment has skyrocketed, and the minimum wage is one of the culprits. Therefore, the minimum wage does provide raises for some workers. However, these workers are not the truly marginalized that the law intends to protect. The minimum wage keeps those disadvantaged workers out of a job. There are many other reasons to not support a minimum wage, but I believe this argument is the most compelling. Thank you.