# FILE NAME: 00002526.soc
# TITLE: Should the minimum wage be lowered to make jobs more available? [d1cc54f7b1f912b8417c3545159f39d4]
# DESCRIPTION: 
# DATA TYPE: soc
# MODIFICATION TYPE: original
# RELATES TO: 
# RELATED FILES: 
# PUBLICATION DATE: 2025-10-12
# MODIFICATION DATE: 2025-10-12
# NUMBER ALTERNATIVES: 5
# NUMBER VOTERS: 5
# NUMBER UNIQUE ORDERS: 5
# ALTERNATIVE NAME 1: Statement 1 - No the minimim wage should not be lowered. I fail to see how anyone would think this was a good idea. People can barely afford to live at the moment as it is without the pittance of a minimum wage being lowered! Creating more jobs will only help people to get into a job, lowering the wage they are given whilst working in that job is not going to help at all. More people will be forced to rely on benefits to top up their income, thereby putting more of a strain on the economy.
# ALTERNATIVE NAME 2: Statement 2 - No, the minimum wage should not be lowered to make more jobs available because in the UK we are currently in the middle of a cost of living crisis and it's the unwaged, those on benefits and those on minimum wages who are particularly struggling. To my knowledge (and in my recent experience with a major employer), a lot of those on minimum wages are also on zero hours contracts so they have no job security either from their minimum wage income. If employers / certain industries can't afford to pay the minimum wage (or proposed increases to it) then the government should be doing more to support such employers and industries. It seems currently that there are plenty of jobs to go around in certain (vital) sectors such as the Care Sector and the minimum wage at its current level already contributes to the considerable number of vacancies because the wage doesn't reflect the responsibilities of the role. More should be done by the government to ensure that all sectors have adequate staffing, including paying people a decent wage for the work they do.
# ALTERNATIVE NAME 3: Statement 3 - Absolutely not. The UK is already struggling with inflation and a cost of living crisis on the wages that are currently paid. Those on minimum wage are not living in luxury in any sense of the word, and reducing the cost of labour even further is only to the benefit of corporations, not those working for them. If a company cannot afford to pay someone a living wage, they should not exist as they are clearly not successful/useful enough within the economy, or are just too greedy in paying the higher ups for their own gain. I see no benefit in creating extra jobs at a lower wage, it becomes a quick race to the bottom - not a race to the top of paying people their worth.
# ALTERNATIVE NAME 4: Statement 4 - Its not a race to the bottom! The minimum wage is already so low it would be a struggle to live on with dignity. If businesses feel they need to pay lower-than minimum wage, perhaps they should address their business model, rather than exploiting people to achieve their profits. 
# ALTERNATIVE NAME 5: Statement 5 - The minimum wage is already too low to be considered a living wage, lowering it further will just disadvantage people working minimum wage jobs and allow businesses to profit off of these workers. Many large corporations make more than enough profit to pay their employees above minimum wage and yet still pay the minimum. The idea that these businesses have fewer jobs available because of the minimum wage being 'too high' is laughable seeing as the top dogs in these companies make 6+ figure salaries. With the cost of living increasing at a faster rate at the moment, the minimum wage should be at the very least increased, not lowered.
1: 2,4,1,5,3
1: 2,1,5,3,4
1: 2,5,3,1,4
1: 2,3,5,1,4
1: 3,2,5,1,4