Scholarship Symposium

Presenter: Joshua Marcotte
Faculty Advisor: Daniel Slater

Currently, the Democratic Party is trying to pass a bill that would more than double the minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour nationwide by the year 2025. This proposal was rejected as part of President Biden's COVID relief bill but will still be pursued in the future in an attempt to implement this nationwide. Never in history has the minimum wage been doubled in such a short time. If this happens, the increase in wages would cause the cost of living to increase as well, therefore canceling out the raising of the minimum wage. Corporations will have to raise prices and layoff millions of workers. A jump like this would send unemployment levels higher than they have ever been before, and the only ones that would really benefit from a wage increase like this are those chosen to stay and work. The rest would be out of a job and in a worse spot than before. The minimum wage has not been increased as a nationwide mandate since 2009, and to more than double the wage between 2021-2025 seems like a short-sighted attempt to decrease poverty in the U.S., when other measures could be taken. I propose that over the course of these four years, the wage be increased in increments to $10 an hour. This large an increase in just four years would still be the highest in history and would be able to effect change in the economy, but not to the point where businesses fail, and millions are laid off.