It seems almost inevitable that the minimum wage will not only be increased in the state, but now nationwide. The House of Representatives pushed through a bill to increase the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour through the next two years. Governor Blagojevich already supports an increase in the state wage, but there are some who look at the wage increase as a step in the wrong direction.

According to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune on labor unions and city hall, Mayor Richard M. Daley vetoed a mandatory wage increase for employees of big box companies like Wal-Mart, with stores and locations in Chicago. Franchise stores threatened they would no longer conduct business inside the city if the wage increase went through, and the mayor backed down.

What is the problem with an increase in minimum wage? Some people say business owners could not afford to pay any worker a higher wage and keep prices low. That point becomes moot if consumers end up buying more product due to higher wages. The Center for American Progress expects the U.S. Senate to attach tax incentives for big business to the bill for minimum wage increase. The Center says data collected from all 50 states shows an increase should not harm business at all. Big business can claim that a wage increase will put a threat on the industry, but, in reality, those who would suffer the most risk are middle-class consumers and small business owners.

Lee Blankenship, manager at the Village Commons Bookstore in DeKalb, said he is not against increasing the minimum wage, but he sees the reality of the situation.

“As far as my business is concerned,” Blankenship said, “when you have a large jump, and my costs don’t increase, I’ll have to cut help.”

The help means employees, the majority of whom are NIU students. However, located below Blankenship and the VCB, in the same store front, Rich Berg offers a different opinion.

“I’m totally for an increase in the minimum wage,” said Berg, who owns a comic shop. “Comics cost three dollars, and I need people to have money to buy them. I can’t imagine how someone making minimum wage can survive.”

In an article published by The Business Review, the Fiscal Policy Institute says that an increase in minimum wage will not have a detrimental effect on small business. The claim is based on New York City’s minimum wage increase from $5.15 per hour in 2004 to $6.75 in 2006. As of Jan. 1, New York City’s minimum wage is $7.15 per hour. Small businesses were able to increase their wages and not cut back on jobs. It should be noted that this data only comes from one place. There is also a much larger issue when it comes to economics in the United States.

Even with an increase in the minimum wage, more money is in the pockets of consumers, which means more money in the hands of businesses. However, it may not be going to the best businesses. Large chain stores are not only able to dish out the dough, but in reality they are less threatened by the wage hike than smaller businesses. This is possible is because prices at large franchise stores are so low that smaller business can not compete. The risk of minimum wage increase is not that small business will go under, but that big business will succeed.

You may ask what the problem is. Even if big business wins, they still employ Americans and they still sell goods. This is true, but products from many large businesses are imported and not domestically made. Wal-Mart, for example, sells a product line that mostly comes from China, not the United States.

The real problem is a lack of regard for cultivating small business. It lies in the middle of this argument, and it is being ignored. I will admit that I have to shop at Wal-Mart and other large stores sometimes to make ends meet. However, with this wage increase we should all remember the regular people of any community we come from. A dollar spent at bargain chain stores may never come back to this country and do any good. Money spent at local shops helps businesses like the VCB retain its employees – employees that attend this university.