Theoretically, it sounds great to give people more money. However, it’s necessary to understand that raising the minimum wage won’t raise the quality of life for everyone.

Firstly, augmentation of the minimum wage will probably hurt the people who need money the most, as businesses(especially small businesses), will have to lay off people if the business has to increase salaries. Many people will lose their jobs, and/or struggle to find jobs as less companies will want to hire if they have to pay workers more. An Express Employment Professionals survey found that 38 percent of business owners who pay minimum wage would lay off workers if minimum wage was increased.

Companies would instead turn to technology, or people in other countries, in order to gain profit. Teenagers and young adults would face especially harsh consequences of an increased minimum wage because fewer businesses would want to hire inexperienced workers—there would be a decrease in work opportunities and an increase in people searching for jobs. In fact, 54 percent of business owners would reduce hiring according to the same survey.

Moreover, since companies would struggle to compensate for the profit loss (since companies would have to pay their workers more), the price of consumer goods would also increase. This wouldn’t have a beneficial impact on our economy, as people would still pay the same percentage of their paychecks for their needs. For example, 65 percent of the business owners said they would increase prices of goods and sources. The increase of the price of goods would thereby have a negative impact on people searching for jobs. While an increase in minimum wage may sound favorable, it’s more probable that it have a detrimental impact on society—not a positive one.