Yes, there are some counterpoints to minimum wage increases. That’s one of them: raising the bar for employability, which also raises the bar on business viability, both of which might ultimately decrease the job pool size. I think it’s a reasonable counterpoint. Inflation is another one.
On the other hand I think at this point most economies are in agreement that minimum wage increases above inflation are a necessity and that gig economy workers need some of that protection as well given we don’t have a well stablished legal framework for them. Because this is gig work, it doesn’t make sense to speak of layoffs. But one could expect a price increase passed on to consumers, which could lead to lower demand, therefore a risk of lower income for workers long-term; but it’s factored in and it’s a good experiment on the trade-off.
Yes, there are some counterpoints to minimum wage increases. That’s one of them: raising the bar for employability, which also raises the bar on business viability, both of which might ultimately decrease the job pool size. I think it’s a reasonable counterpoint. Inflation is another one.
On the other hand I think at this point most economies are in agreement that minimum wage increases above inflation are a necessity and that gig economy workers need some of that protection as well given we don’t have a well stablished legal framework for them. Because this is gig work, it doesn’t make sense to speak of layoffs. But one could expect a price increase passed on to consumers, which could lead to lower demand, therefore a risk of lower income for workers long-term; but it’s factored in and it’s a good experiment on the trade-off.