Tax Break Balances Minimum Wage Hike

Maybe that extra value meal doesn't need a price hike, after all

If you are like me, when you first heard about the increase in the federal minimum wage, you had serious concerns. How will this affect the cost of my value meal number 2 at McDonald's? Will I be able to afford to continue clogging my arteries on a regular basis?

In seriousness, most of us agree that trying to make ends meet on $5.15 per hour is close to impossible. But would a wage increase actually help the working poor, or would it just drive the prices of goods and services up to the point where the working poor still couldn't afford them?

It turns out that our lawmakers did have some sympathy for the small business owners who would be most impacted by the increase in expenses brought on by the minimum wage hike. Along with the wage increase, a series of tax breaks for small businesses was passed. These include expanded deductions and write-offs, along with incentives to hire people from some economically disadvantaged groups, such as people on public assistance and people just released from prison.

Sounds like a potentially win-win situation, not only for small businesses and minimum wage workers, but for everyone who doesn't want to see the rising costs of doing business reflected in the amount we pay for our goods and services.