If businesses are required to pay more for labor, they cannot afford as many employees. Not only is this clear at an intuitive level, almost 100 academic studies have shown this. The congressionally mandated Minimum Wage Study Commission, for example, found that a 10 percent increase in the minimum wage reduces teenage employment by one to three percent. Research shows that the use of illegal immigrant labor goes up, since illegals are unlikely to report violations of minimum wage laws. Research shows increases in minimum wage rates increase welfare dependency.
Research shows that a higher minimum wage increases the high school drop-out rate.
Higher-paying entry level jobs draw the marginal student out of school, but without education, promotion is difficult. Higher minimum wages mean longer waits at places such as bank teller windows, the post office, and while on hold. As wages are forced up, employers must cut back on the number of workers. We all pay for that by waiting. Yet minimum wage laws do the most damage to exactly this group.