The federal minimum wage (and any local minimum wages) eject anyone from the labor market whose skills are worth less than the stated minimum. A strong minimum wage renders many teenagers completely unemployable. If you look into the racist history of the minimum wage you'll see its strongest proponents saw the labor market impacts as a *feature* - the minimum wage would ensure that immigrants and minorities stayed out of the labor market because their skill levels did not justify the price under a high minimum wage.
If you want to maximize national purchasing power you want as many people working as possible, which means market wages, not price controls.
Judicator1, the young do not remain young, but too often the poor remain poor. To the extent that people do not or cannot acquire, improve, and keep current their skills and knowledge, they’re likely to remain among the working poor.
The minimum wage rate does not affect all wage rates equally; it’s of greater benefit to those earning the lowest rates and of lesser benefit to those earning the highest rates, but it is of some benefit to ALL employees.
Employment is less meaningful if the wage rate is less meaningful. Government social welfare programs, (including education and training) is preferable to widespread poverty due to wage rate’s racing to the bottom.
I don’t know what you consider to be “national purchasing power”. I consider the nation that achieves and sustains the greater median wage per capita of their population, has achieved a superior economy.
Some other nations' minimum-rates are somewhat reduced for youths just entering the labor market; The USA has begun to do the same but thus far it has not perceivably increased jobs for youths.
Unlike the USA, some nations tolerate lesser than their nation’s minimum rate IF the employee is participating within a RECOGNIZED on-the-job training program with reasonable prospects of earning much more in the future.
If there were no federal minimum rate, the purchasing powers of ALL wages would generally be less and less qualified worker could find work for wage rates of the most drastically lesser purchasing powers. Full employment at poverty wage rates would degrade rather than improve our nation’s economy.
The minimum wage rate is a legally enforced minimum, it does not regulate wages. We have minimum health codes, fire codes, building codes, and zoning codes. You’re free to build what you want, but not free to degrade or endanger others because you perceive an opportunity to profit by doing so.
Respectfully, Supposn
