A rising minimum wage is good, right? Everybody working at or near the bottom of the payment scale likes to think government enforced upward pressure on wages is a good thing. In a perfect world, where small businesses had unlimited resources, that might be true. Unfortunately, that’s not the real world. For several reasons, a higher federally mandated minimum wage is likely to make it harder for young workers’ to find a job. Why? It costs a lot of money for an employer to hire, train, and then pay a new worker. Being forced to pay a higher minimum wage makes it more likely they will decide to go with the current work force in place and implement a hiring freeze. It’s easier to toss more work at current workers than bring in new ones. As minimum wage rises, it makes jobs more attractive to retired or out of work people with experience and a proven track record of work. They migrate into the job force and snatch positions from young workers. Don’t believe us? Before the last minimum wage increase in July 2009, the rate was $6.55 an hour and teen unemployment was 24.3%. Three months later, with a federal wage of $7.55 in place, teen joblessness has risen to 27.6%, and this was AFTER the Obama administration assured us the worst of the recession had passed. Minimum wage does not make sense for you.