In America today, there is a national shortage of jobs. Beyond that, there is an alarming number of Americans who want the federal government to enact new laws and regulations without ever thinking what the consequences may be. There are issues over marijuana legalization, smaller class sizes, and limitations on free trade overseas; many think, "That is what's causing a shortage of jobs, right?" Wrong! The main reason American business owners are shipping our low paying jobs and/or our "production line" type jobs over to countries like Japan, India, and Bangkok is because the federal government has set so many limitations and requirements over what you can and can't pay a worker for his time that this country is not an attractive place to keep your jobs available. In this report, I intend to explain the minimum wage policies and give you a background of it. I will then present some explanation on what is happening to the business owners who have to deal with minimum wage. Next, I will go over the short run and long run impacts of a possible wage increase. After touching on some reasons people give for increasing minimum wage, I will present some alternatives to the current system and a conclusion.
             The minimum wage is a provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This law, which was passed in 1938, set a minimum wage of $0.25 per hour and also set standards regarding overtime pay and child labor. Minimum wage increases are passed at the will of Congress as amendments to the FLSA. Today, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) holds a federal minimum wage of $5.15 per hour for nonexempt employees. An employer of a tipped employee is only required to pay $2.13 an hour in direct wages if that amount plus the tips received equals at least the federal minimum wage, the employee retains all tips, and the employee customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips. If an employee's tips combined...