The folly of a $15 minimum wage

With Illinois approaching what could be a financial death spiral with a junk bond status, the Illinois House and the Senate still had time to pass a $15 minimum wage bill to raise the present minimum wage of $8.25, incrementally, until it reached $15 in 2022. It is now on Gov. Rauner's desk. No Republicans voted for the bill.

Under the assumption that it will improve living conditions for many Illinois residents, did it ever occur to lawmakers that the unfunded mandate would mostly be imposed upon small businesses, that the wage increase would set into motion a push to raise the wages of those who were already at or near the $15-per-hour wage level and that if businesses are unable to find money in their budget to pay for the wage hikes, robots, which don't have to pay either benefits or salaries, will take the place of humans?

Furthermore, minimum-wage jobs were never meant to support a family. They were intended as entry level jobs, many times filled by teens, as a worthwhile first work experience.

It has been estimated that raising the state minimum wage to $15 an hour would not only lead to 93,000 fewer jobs across Illinois by 2027, but would also reduce the state's production output by more than $56 billion over a 10-year period.

Can Illinois afford to lose more jobs or impede businesses from expanding or creating jobs, when according to the U.S. Department of Labor Illinois has added only a net 100 jobs since the year 2000? That means Illinois employers have added 1 new job every two months. Not only will the young find it more difficult to get first jobs, but technology will replace employees because of increased cost.

Isn't a low-paying job better than no job opportunity at all?

Nancy J. Thorner

Lake Bluff