Being a part-time worker myself, I was delighted when BC\u2019s minimum wage was raised from $10.45 to $10.85 this September. When I heard that it would be further increased to $11.25 in September 2017, I was overjoyed. These increases are a part of the province\u2019s plan to push towards a \u201clivable wage\u201d (Zussman, 2016). It aims to help people afford to live in cities such as Vancouver, where the costs of living are constantly increasing.
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However, I began to doubt the \u201clivable wage\u201d when its existence was scrutinized by my economics professor during a lecture. What is livable wage when there is inflation, when the prices of goods and services are constantly increasing? Wouldn’t the increased income shift the demand curve? On the surface, this plan increases the salaries of workers and thus they are able to afford more and meet the costs of living. This may reduce the poverty rates as well. Everything about this sounds great, but is it?<\/p>\n
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In a business point of view, increasing minimum wage is an increase of costs for the firm, and thus lowering their overall profits. As a result, the business must find means to \u201cmeet the cost\u201d and balance their books. Small businesses that rely on a limited team of staff will be especially affected. Firms have reported that they had to lay off employees, cut recruitment, and slow business growth plans because of this (Press Association, 2016). Some businesses may need to increase the prices of their products and services to reach their revenue margin. Recently, Alberta increased their minimum wage to $12.20<\/a> making their wage the highest in Canada, and small businesses are already having to cut their staff\u2019s hours and lay off people. Therefore raising the minimum wage, causes the unemployment rate to increase. (Harvey, 2014).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Another negative effect of the increased minimum wage hit me during a Comm 101 tutorial, when an article about Adidas manufacturing\u00a0shoes with robots<\/a>\u00a0was brought up. The question is: with the minimum wages continuously increasing, would it be more worth it for a business to invest in robots than to pay for workers? Robots are more efficient and are not prone to errors like humans are. They are able to maintain the consistency of the products as well. The future is unsettling to me but one day robots may take over the job market, and millions of people will become unemployed. What will become of the unemployed population, especially the lower-class?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Whether this was a political stunt by our premier or not, the idea of livable wage is questionable and has many underlying problems to it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Word Count: 423<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Works Cited<\/p>\n Press Association. (2016, September 30). One in four firms report recruitment cut since living wage introduced. Retrieved October 01, 2016, from http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/wires\/pa\/article-3814878\/One-four-firms-report-recruitment-cut-living-wage-introduced.html<\/p>\n Gallego, J. (2016, September 25). Adidas Reveals Its First Robot Manufactured Shoes. Retrieved October 01, 2016, from http:\/\/futurism.com\/adidas-reveals-its-first-robot-manufactured-shoes\/<\/p>\n Harvey, J. T. (2014, July 6). Raising Minimum Wage Is Not The Answer. Retrieved October 01, 2016, from http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/forbes\/sites\/johntharvey\/2014\/07\/06\/raising-minimum-wage-not-the-answer\/6#faadd817122<\/p>\n Matheson, D. (2016, September 22). Vancouver approves $20.64 ‘living wage’ for all staff. Retrieved October 01, 2016, from http:\/\/bc.ctvnews.ca\/vancouver-approves-20-64-living-wage-for-all-staff-1.3083830<\/p>\n Younglai, R., & Cryderman, K. (2016, October 01). Small-business owners in Alberta brace for minimum-wage hike. Retrieved October 01, 2016, from http:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/report-on-business\/small-business\/sb-managing\/small-business-owners-in-alberta-brace-for-minimum-wage-hike\/article32174789\/<\/p>\n Zussman, R. (2016, May 05). B.C. minimum wage to hit $11.25 by 2017 – British Columbia – CBC News. Retrieved October 01, 2016, from http:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/british-columbia\/b-c-minimum-wage-to-hit-11-25-by-2017-1.3566715<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Being a part-time worker myself, I was delighted when BC\u2019s minimum wage was raised from $10.45 to $10.85 this September. When I heard that it would be further increased to $11.25 in September 2017, I was overjoyed. These increases are a part of the province\u2019s plan to push towards a \u201clivable wage\u201d (Zussman, 2016). It … Continue reading