One day I realized I wanted to branch out and take on another responsibility by joining the workforce. After applying and starting my job, I was eager to make money and save for college. Something I learned quickly is how when I got my job last year, minimum wage was only 8.50 per hour. How has it changed since then? And why does it keep going up?

Last February, our governor Phil Murphy signed a law that plans to increase minimum wage in New Jersey to 15 dollars an hour by 2024. Personally, I believe that this change will benefit many people in poverty as well as those with part time jobs. Although there are some pros for this new law, many can already see some flaws. 

The idea behind this new law was to make it easier for people to become part of the middle class. Although the slowly climbing minimum wage can ease workers, this may negatively affect small business owners in New Jersey. Creating a high minimum wage for these businesses to uphold creates issues in where this money is coming from. Whether it creates a need to sell products for more money or to let employees go, many small businesses are beginning to struggle in the new climate created by this law. 

Although there are pros and cons to this new law, overall I believe that it is working well so far. As the minimum wage increases from here, it may create negative effects, but as of now the pros seem to outweigh the cons.