One of the writers in The Guardian (12/21/16),

advocated raising the minimum wage (“End Federal Subsidies: Raise the Minimum Wage”).  This debate has intensified as the Trump Transition Team prepares to take over the White House.  Many argue that an increase in minimum wage would be great for the American people, but the reality is that it will result in the opposite effect.  In some parts of the country, there is definitely a need for an increase in minimum wage. It all depends on where you live. $7.25 an hour (the current minimum wage) in Alabama is very different than $7.25 in New York. This is based on cost of living. On an index of 100, 100 being the national average, New York ranks at 121.80. Alabama’s cost of living scale is 87.00. So based on these numbers, it is safe to say that there may be areas where an increase is appropriate, but this is not universal.
The idea of putting money into the pockets of the American people is a great idea at first, but when examined closer, the down side is revealed. In the private
sector, profit and loss is the driver. If employers are forced to double workers’ wages, they will undoubtedly reduce the work force and require workers to produce more to earn the higher wage. These workers will be forced to accept this increased workload since there will be plenty of unemployed workers at this level to take their place should they object.  Thus the increased wage, in some areas unnecessary will result in hurting the very vulnerable population it is proposed to help. Additionally, business owners will have to raise prices to cover the increased wages. These higher prices will hurt families whose wage earners make in the $15-20 range and will not be subject to an increase in wages.
This issue is representative of a much larger question – should the Federal Government be legislating issues like worker wages or speed limits for the states? When the Constitution was ratified, the federal government served to  provide for national defense and mediate disputes between the states and not much else. The Bill of Rights was added later to provide for minimum freedoms to which all American citizens must be entitled. Within these guidelines, the states were free to legislate whatever laws made sense for their residents.
Ever since the conclusion of the Civil War, the federal government has taken control of more and more issues that previously had been under state control. A national drinking age, national speed limits and the national minimum wage are all examples of this control being taken from the  states by the federal government. To think that someone in Washington, DC feels more qualified to set the speed limit on a highway 100 miles south of Yuma, Arizona than the state government is as insane as their determination of the minimum wage a worker can earn there. The answer is to eliminate national minimum wage and give the states the ability to create the proper wage that they deem necessary to live.  The proper response to this issue is to leave the question of minimum wage to the individual states and to provide tax incentives to companies who provide better employment packages for their workers.

American industry made us the strongest economic power in the world, but has been handicapped severely by restrictions and regulations put in place by the federal government. Instead of mandating programs, the government should partner with private industry to provide incentives for increasing the quality of life of their employees while at the same time providing an atmosphere that promotes the profitability of business. This will allow for continued growth and help to increase the employment opportunities for all Americans.  In the most recent election, the American people showed that they were looking for a change in the way the country  does business. Hopefully Trump’s administration will follow a fresh approach to increasing the quality of life while securing our individual freedoms that we all enjoy.