Blog #11

US fast food wage protests expand to other industries
Jack Farmer

Fast food and Home care workers are now demanding an increase in minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 and hour. They feel like they aren't getting enough money to support them self and they feel like $15 would support their needs. This would increase unemployment though. It would mean businesses would have to lay off many of their employees due to how much more they would have to pay. Almost twice as much as they are now. The other alternative is a price increase in the goods we buy. If businesses are paying more they have to make more money to support their new expenses by raising prices of their goods which would defeat the point of increasing the minimum wage. Barrack Obama does support this because it would help the economy even though the effects could be worse.

I think that the minimum wage shouldn't be increased so much for several reasons. This change would increase unemployment by 200% in fast food restaurants just because of the cost. Also if the minimum wage increase and people pay more for their products a devaluation will occur where the value of money decreases. If this happens inflation will occur and the cost of imports would increase which would in the long run hurt the economy. I also believe that unskilled labor should not be payed that much that much because they didn't go to college and get any skill that makes them useful to employers.

This relates to A.P. government because it shows the first amendment rights to assemble and petition. The employees protesting are practicing their rights. Today's efforts with protesting the minimum wage have been the largest protest made by this group yet.