By: Erika Nanez
BOWLING GREEN- Many Bowling Green State University students agreed on President Barack Obama’s proposal to raise the minimum wage to $9, saying it would help those that are struggling to get by and benefit the economy in the long run.
Sarita Gupta, the executive director of the Huffington Post, said in her blog she agrees with the president’s proposal, that it is well past the time for Congress to raise the minimum wage again. Gupta said this will guarantee that working families can live above the poverty level and contribute to the economic recovery.
Anna Forward, a sophomore from McLean, Va., studying computer science and VCT, said, “Earning more money in minimum paying jobs will make the economy go around.”
She said more people earning more means they have more money in their pockets are more willing to spend it on goods and services, which will eventually boost the economy.
Some economists, like David Neumark of the University of California at Irvine, believe that even though this might benefit the economy, the employment rate could be adversely affected.
Neumark told NewsObserver that he estimated loss of 300,000 jobs the last time the minimum wage was increased in July 2009.
Some students agreed with this assessment saying increasing the minimum wage would increase the unemployment rate.
Breanna Rossen, a freshman from Lakewood, Ohio, studying pre-athletic training, said increasing minimum wage will cause companies to start laying off their unskilled workers and start cutting hours to those who stay. This would be the only way for the company to not lose more money due to the increase in wages, she said.
Zeke Gonzalez, a junior from Stafford, Va., studying American foreign policy, said, “If the minimumwage increases there is going to be more competition in the work field.”
This increased competition could hurt young job seekers.
Brooklyn Martinez, a sophomore from Columbus, Ohio, studying psychology, said fewer jobs is going to make finding a job harder for teenagers and young adults because they are not as experienced as older adults.
Suhaylan Hamzah, a sophomore from Cleveland, Ohio, studying VCT, believes the high competition in minimum paying jobs is going to cause the unemployment rate to increase because finding a job is going to become an even bigger challenge.
Many students said those in the lower income bracket facing today’s high prices on goods can no longer get by with the current minimum wage. As the price of goods continues to increase, they need their income to increase as well.
Michelle Montano, a sophomore from Guadalajara, Mexico, studying journalism and Asian studies, said earning a few extra dollars could make a big difference to those who can barely make ends meet. “With the current minimum wage it makes it hard, especially for college students, to pay for rent and other necessities,” she said.
In his State of the Union address, the president said: “Even with the tax relief we’ve put in place, a family with two kids that earns minimum wage still lives below the poverty line. That’s wrong.”
If the president’s proposal is approved, then citizens could see the minimum wage increase in 2015.