<a href="https://www.activistpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/The-Financial-Psychology-Behind-Money-Worries.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-192093"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-192093" src="https://www.activistpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/The-Financial-Psychology-Behind-Money-Worries.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="400" /></a>

Most people tend to side with having some sort of minimum wage. Those who argue against it often rely purely on economics to explain their position, losing the human element behind the goal to maximize one's earning potential without being exploited.

In my view, it's a more complex argument than it first appears, and I've rarely come across any sort of explanation that is 100% convincing for either side. I thought I would share a link to an article I just read which does a brilliant job of illustrating the downside to minimum wage without preaching economic theory or any of the other abstractions that often derail the point trying to be made.

In this real-world example, Patrick Carroll recounts the time he spent as an unpaid intern, principally due to the existence of a minimum wage. Instead of seeing either the lack of a minimum wage -- or calls to suppress the amount offered -- as exploitation by the "capitalist" class, he instead frames the argument by pointing out that the minimum wage actually serves as a barrior to entry, most commonly to those who are just beginning their job search or might be looking to enter a given career. As he points out, not only was he woefully unqualified, but he didn't learn much during his internship either. 

Patrick convincingly, in my view, lays out a case for why the minimum wage is a type of prohibition, and it not only does not solve the problem it claims to address, but it is actually a net negative upon the entire economy. 

As he states:

>It’s tempting to think that wages can just be increased through legislation. But that’s not how the world works. Employers will only pay as much as a worker is productive. If a low-skilled worker isn’t all that productive, and a minimum wage law requires the employer to pay more than the value the worker produces, the worker simply won’t be hired. The low-paying job that would otherwise exist is prohibited because it doesn’t pay enough. Rather than getting the minimum wage, the worker is pushed out of a job altogether.</blockquote>

I'd love to hear your thoughts after reading his Patrick's personal story at the Foundation for Economic Education here:

<a href="https://fee.org/articles/how-the-minimum-wage-forced-me-into-an-unpaid-internship/">https://fee.org/articles/how-the-minimum-wage-forced-me-into-an-unpaid-internship/</a>

Michael Edwards, Editor ActivistPost.com