Raising the minimum wage is a negative action for the citizens of The United States of America

Raising the minimum wage is not only not negative action for U.S. citizens it is overall positive action. The reason for this is that it increases the standard of living for millions of American. Income inequality is one of the largest problems facing America today and raising minimum wage will help bridge that gap.[1] Even the lowest paid workers in America should be earning a living wage. There are three reasons raising minimum wage is not a negative action. a. It increases wages for the lowest income bracket b. It increases purchasing power c. It will not increase inflation Contention A. It increases wages for the lowest income bracket. 7.6 million to 16.5 million Americans will see an increase on income depending on how much we raise by (which we will discuss next round)[2]. This could bring as many as many as 4.6 million Americans out of poverty and up to 6.8 million when considering the long-term benefits[3]. This is especially important in the aftermath of the Great Recession. Three-fifths of all jobs lost during the Great Recession were Middle-Income jobs and three-fifths of all new jobs created were low wage[4]. Less impoverished people also means less money the government has to spend on welfare. This at it"s core is about people"s work being rewarded with an actual living wage. Contention B. It increases purchasing power. This goes hand in hand with my first point. When wages increases so does purchasing power. An increase in minimum wage will led to $31 billion dollars in increased earnings [2]. An increase in minimum wage is needed to get Americans back on their feet and buying again. If in fact this economic stimulant may even create jobs. A minimum wage hike could create a need for 160,000 employees[5]. With lower wages families are having a hard time meeting basic needs let alone treating themselves on nicer things. But the economy can"t survive when people can only afford to pay for their basic needs. Contention C. It will not create inflation. My opponent MB17 brought up a fair point last round concerning inflation. It"s justified to worry about inflation when thinking about minimum wage. However what my opponent failed to show was any direct link between minimum wage and inflation, supported by evidence. The rises in price are simply too small to have a real impact. Even when considering a very dramatic increase in minimum wage to $12 will only add 7-15 cents per shopping trip[6]. In fact the number is most likely much lower. The 7-15 cent figure assumes that the cost will be passed on entirely to the customer. So when considering the different measures businesses can take to make up for the cost, the increased business they will receive as a result of the increase, and the less dramatic increase I will argue for next round we can clearly see the impact on inflation will be extremely small. Also, even if inflation of prices does come as result the wage increases will cancel it out and we will be left with a net neutral impact therefore not reaching the resolution stating that we will have a net negative impact. The benefits of this minimum wage increase on workers wages and the economy strongly outweigh the harms of the miniscule levels of inflation that will occur. Therefore I would strongly encourage voting CON. SOURCES: [1] http://www.un.org... [2]http://www.cbo.gov... [3]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com... [4]http://www.nelp.org... [5]http://www.cnn.com... [6]http://www.demos.org...