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The federal minimum wage has not been increased since the enactment of the Small Business Job Protection Act in 1996. Would increasing the minimum wage force the hand of small businesses? Would small businesses succumb to hiring less qualified employees (welfare recipients) so they can receive tax breaks and deductions for property leases? How should small business owners handle an increased minimum wage? What additional changes would small business owners make with the increase to the minimum wage law?
The Small Business Act states that a small business concern is "one that is independently owned and operated and which is not dominant in its field of operation." The law also states that in determining what constitutes a small business, the definition will vary from industry to industry to reflect industry differences accurately. (1) SBA considers economic characteristics comprising the structure of an industry, including degree of competition, average firm size, start-up costs and entry barriers, and distribution of firms by size. It also considers technological changes, competition from other industries, growth trends, historical activity within an industry, unique factors occurring in the industry which may distinguish small firms from other firms, and the objectives of its programs and the impact on those programs of different size standard levels. (2)
The minimum wage is the minimum hourly, daily or monthly wage that must be paid to employees or workers, according to law. The first national minimum wage law was enacted by the government of New Zealand in 1896. In the United States minimum wages were first introduced nationally in 1938. The definition is that it is the amount required by the “minimum standard of living necessary for health, efficiency, and general well-being.” The minimum wage provides “a decent standard of living for families”. The question is how big is a “family,” and how much is required for their "decent"...