Businesses, not government, should decide NJ minimum wage (Opinion)

There is no reason for anyone in New Jersey to not have a job. Not when Amazon is hiring like crazy, and now they've raised their minimum in hire rate to $15 an hour.

They didn't need the government to tell them to do it, they just took it upon themselves and did it. That's called competitive business. For their $15 an hour, they will get an employee that cares more about losing that job than say one who's making the current minimum wage of $8.60 per hour.

More and more of the bigger chains are smart enough to hire for more. Target is paying $12 an hour, Walmart pays $11 an hour and has a plan that will put employees through college. This is called competition, and successful businesses don't need an unsuccessful business like the government telling them what to pay their employees.

It's not fair to those smaller businesses who can't afford to stay in business if they are forced to raise their minimum wage, nor is it fair to the worker who will lose their job because their employer has gone out of business.

No one throws you in the back of a truck and forces you to make minimum wage. That's your decision. The unemployment rate is New Jersey is 4.6 percent, which means there are jobs to be had. If the rate went higher and businesses were forced to cut salaries, then you have to ask yourself, would I rather work for little money or no money at all? If the government forces a $15 an hour minimum wage, expect the latter.

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