With the historically sharp rises in inflation ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, a debate has risen about whether the minimum wage should be increased. This adjustment should be made because it would reduce economic hardship over time, but the raise must be done in a way that also protects small businesses who may not be able to afford large increases in workers’ salary.
This is why Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s signature of legislation to incrementally increase Virginia’s minimum wage every year is a step in the right direction. Virginia’s minimum wage currently sits at $12.77 an hour, but with the legislation it is set to increase to $13.75 an hour on Jan. 1, 2027, before increasing again to $15 an hour on Jan. 1, 2028. This trend will continue each year after that, adjusting to inflation.
Spanberger implemented this increase because of rising living costs and to ensure financial security for hourly workers.
“Today, we are putting more money in the pockets of Virginia workers,” Spanberger said in a public statement.
Many McLean students work part-time jobs on an hourly salary.
“The [minimum] wage should be raised because young adults or teenagers might become discouraged when it comes to working,” said sophomore Nora Bogacki, a minimum wage worker. “They might stop working because of it and be unmotivated because of the lack of money they are getting.”
According to TeenLink, many teenagers report feeling “underpaid and overworked” because of their part-time job, and their jobs add additional burden on top of their other schoolwork and extracurriculars.
But minimum wage should not increase substantially all at once. Doing so would not give small businesses enough time to adjust, hurting profits and the economy as a whole. Instead, increases should happen gradually, as detailed in Spanberger’s new legislation.
Some may argue that increasing the minimum wage will lead to job loss, because some companies will not be able to afford the increase in worker wages.
However, because the increase is gradual, businesses will have time to adjust each year instead of having to deal with a big sudden cost increase.
Ultimately, adjusting minimum wage to meet economic conditions is crucial to ensure workers are compensated fairly. Such legislation should account for job loss protection, which is why Spanberger’s legislation is a step in the right direction.
