Debunking Minimum Wage Myths

If the minimum wage had the same purchasing power it had in 1968, it would pay $10.27 per hour. So you'd think raising the minimum wage from its current $7.25 per hour to $10 per hour would be the absolutely bare minimum Congress could do to help the most deserving workers in the country..

 

By now it should be obvious that repugs just reflexively oppose anything and everything that helps workers, and they'll tell any lie to hide their real agenda.

But in case you need facts to bolster your instinct, Think Progress has some:

Conservative opposition to a higher minimum wage hinges on a few tired arguments that ultimately protect big businesses and hurt low-income workers. Here are the favorite conservative myths when it comes to the minimum wage and why there’s really nothing to them:

1) The minimum wage kills jobs.  ... In fact, an analysis of state minimum wage increases showed that those state boosting their wage “had job growth slightly above the national average.”

2) Increasing the minimum wage hurts small businesses. ... two-thirds of low-wage workers actually work for big corporations, most of which have largely recovered from the recession and could therefore afford to increase wages. The three largest employers of low-wage workers have all seen large profit increases in the last few years.


3) Increasing the minimum wage only benefits teenagers. ...  nearly 90 percent of minimum wage workers are 20 years old or older. Plus, “more than a third (35.8 percent) [of minimum wage workers] are married, and over a quarter (28.0 percent) are parents.”

Read the whole thing.