New York, Seattle, L.A., D.C. What do all of these cities have in common? They have all decided that they will soon implement a $15 minimum wage. Many are happy about this trend because they believe the popular myth that raising minimum wage will decrease the wage gap and reduce the number of Americans living below the poverty line, with absolutely no side effects whatsoever.

These ever-so-optimistic tale tellers are correct in saying that it would be extremely difficult to raise a family on a single minimum wage salary. A full-time minimum wage employee, earning the current minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, would earn roughly $15,000 annually, which falls below the $22,000 needed yearly to rise above the poverty threshold for a family of four.

However, believers in the $15 an hour minimum wage as a cure-all fail to realize that we cannot escape corporate greed with such a seemingly simple solution. Wage increases would not reduce company profit, but would rather lead to employee layoffs, reduced hours, unnecessarily high job competition and most definitely a hit to the consumer with major price increases.

Who will most directly be affected by the minimum wage increase? It is not the uneducated single mother trying to raise a family, it’s us. Roughly half of all minimum wage workers are under the age of 24. Should minimum wage be increased so drastically, you can kiss any chance of getting a summer job to pay off those student loans goodbye. You’ll most definitely be replaced with an overqualified older employee.

Out of the other half of minimum wage workers, half work part-time voluntarily. In fact, just 4.7 percent of minimum wage earners fit their common misconception as poor adults (25 and older) working full-time and trying to raise a family.

So, therefore, it is not in the best interest of America as a nation to increase the minimum wage so drastically above inflation rates, and it certainly is not in the best interest of the average college student. If you would like to work part-time to get by while in school and still be able to afford a bite to eat with friends once in a while, you should not be advocating for a $15 minimum wage.