The debate is to raise the minimum wage or not to? Over the past few years in Canada we have seen minimum wages increase to above any US minimum wage. The only issue is that generally goods such as petrol, housing and living costs are much more expensive in Canada. Across much of the USA an increase in the minimum wages will cause for a loss in many jobs, but in my opinion this can actually benefit locals.
The issue in America, as well as north of the border is a huge influx of illegal immigrants or huge amounts of legal immigrants who many feel are taking Canadians jobs. Now if those immigrants are more highly trained then sure give them a job, but many of the jobs that will be lost are very low wage, very simple jobs. My point is that if the USA decides to increase their minimum wage it can start to weed out the illegal immigrants causing many problems for actual residence of the country. If families in the lower classes can actually afford to live above the poverty line, than can you imagine the increase in spending nation wide? As well as the increase in jobs and the decrease in welfare reliance.
In Canada there is a different issue concerning the minimum wage. The problem is, costs are too high, predominately in the Vancouver housing market. By raising our provinces minimum wage to above the poverty line of $13 per/hour, people who are unfortunate to have to work these jobs for a living, or just people looking to make extra cash, can actually afford to live a comfortable life away from debt and fear.
Now it might not sound the best, but securing jobs for Canadians and permanent residence will cause productivity to rise and an increase in consumer confidence. If both nations reduce the amount of foreign labour being used and secure jobs for those in the country, we can expect to see people’s marginal values for those jobs increase. (In my opinion of course)