Does the minimum wage increase have a sustainable effect?

Today, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne announced a 75cent increase in Ontario’s minimum wage going from $10.25/her to $11.00/her. Since the news came out, mixed reactions have plagued the province. Plenty of middle/upper class people believing this to be a bad idea while lower class people responding with anger claiming the former don’t realize the struggles the lower class face. The question is, does the minimum wage really help out the lower class?

Below are the main pros and cons of the minimum wage increase that are widely argued:

PROS:

• Helps out those actually in need money

This is the people working at McDonalds, the waiters and waitresses, the people working two minimum wage jobs. A minimum wage increase for these sort of people working in large companies could help and actually be beneficial unless the company decides to raise prices, which I will discuss further below.

• Fresh Graduates and Immigrants

Many people come straight out of college or university and have a tough time finding a job in they’re field. They are forced to take a full-time minimum wage job and that is just not enough. Say a person works a regular 9-5 work week for a year on minimum wage.  They make a mere $19,200 a year ($10X8X5X4X12). A minimum wage increase could potentially go a long way for these people though it may not be sustainable.

CONS:

• Employers may cut jobs as they would have to spend more per employee

This is the biggest concern for people against minimum wage increases. The ideology here is that with a minimum wage increase, price of goods and inflation will subsequently rise as well. This is mostly true for smaller businesses as they may not be able to run their operations adequately without laying off an employee or raising prices.

• Reduces purchasing power of people making more than minimum, ie the middle class

An increase in the minimum wage affects the middle class as prices generally rise and since the middle class did not receive the wage increase, they take the toll. The upper class are rarely ever effected. 

So to conclude, a minimum wage increase may not necessarily be a bad thing, however will it help poverty as a whole? Probably not. It seems like this age old debate will continue to be an age old debate until a complete economic overhaul is done. Point being, companies may decide to raise prices as people have more disposable income to spend. Rent and utilities expense would also increase as people can afford to spend more. Eventually, there’s a stalemate and a new minimum wage is introduced and the cycle repeats itself.. 

Ryerson Paint Job and Waiting Lists

 

In light of the recent paint job scandal that has sparked enormous criticism, I believe it is incumbent upon Ryerson University to delve into other matters of importance, specifically waiting list for courses.

As it stands, students are expected to enroll in courses at 6am on their assigned course selection day. If students are unable to enroll into a course, they must repeatedly check RAMSS and hope that someone drops a course and in the process develop carpal tunnel syndrome.

A simple solution to this problem is to develop a waiting list. Let’s say a class is full; you put your name on the waiting list and that’s it. Once the class becomes open, you automatically get enrolled into the course. The RAMSS server doesn’t need to crash by students bombarding the site in hopes of getting into a course.

This system has been adopted by majority of universities across the GTA. Take for instance UofT or York, they both have a much more efficient way of allowing students to enroll in courses. How? They implemented a waiting list.

I understand a complete restructure is need to optimize the user experience. RAMSS shouldn’t have to be opening in a new window where there are limited options for students. New programming codes would have to be written and there would have to be site reconstruction. However, I am sure students wouldn’t mind their money being spent on something that actually enhances their experience.

We as students are not made of automated dispensers that shoot out money at our command. Rather we are here to get an education and are spending hard earned money to do so. We want the best experience that our money can provide. So it hurts to hear our hard earned money being misspent.

Therefore I believe waiting lists for courses should be one of main objectives of Ryerson University for the near future.