I’ve worked at the same minimum wage job for over two years, so I get what it’s like. I’ve had to deal with my fair share of unruly customers, yelling at me for something that was totally out of my control. I’ve gotten on my knees and scrubbed nasty floors, I’ve picked up after loud and disrespectful parties, and I’ve gone out of my way to make someone happy without receiving the least bit of appreciation. I’ve done all of this while still somehow maintaining a smile on my face. No, it wasn’t the most glamorous job I’ve ever had, and there were definitely plenty of times where I felt like I was overworked and under-compensated.

With all that being said, however, I still believe that the minimum wage should not be raised. You may think I’m crazy, but let me explain.

Of course I would have liked to get paid more than I did; I would be weird to wish otherwise. Yet, I see things realistically. I’m no expert, but it seems as if the minimum wage keeps rising, it will only cause multiple issues instead of fixing them. If you’ve taken an economics class or have any sort of knowledge about how the economy works, you would understand the basic logistics behind a rising minimum wage. Again, while I am not incredibly well-informed on this subject, I do understand that raising the minimum wage cannot go without taking a toll on the economy. In other words, prices everywhere else will inevitably rise as well. Certain companies would not be able to afford keeping all of their employees at higher rates and therefore would have to let people go or cut hours.

Furthermore, a lot of companies exceeding minimum wage pay rates have something called exempt employees—essentially workers who are exempt from getting overtime pay and receive non-hourly salaries. One of the requirements to be an exempt employee is having a salary that is at least double the minimum wage. By January, 2016, exempt employees must be making at least $20 an hour, and that would only be raised with a higher minimum wage.

The unequal distribution of wealth is a huge issue in our country, all political views aside. If there was a sure way to fix the problem of poverty by simply paying out more money for all jobs, I would be all for it. But we must realize that raising the minimum wage can’t possibly be executed without it having an effect on other salaries and prices. Sounds like the little economic term called inflation—maybe you’ve heard of it?

Another aspect to reflect on is acknowledging what jobs deserve certain pay. As I mentioned before, I’ve felt under-paid in situations where I am dealing with a lot. But at the end of the day, I accept that my pay is sufficient for the tasks that my job entails. I didn’t need any experience before getting hired, and it only took a few training shifts before I was fully ready to work. It seems unfair that I would be getting paid almost as much as someone in another job which requires a college degree and a much higher grade of proficiency in a more taxing field.

This is essentially why we put such a big emphasis on education. Once we earn a degree and acquire important skills, we rightfully have more options of higher-paying jobs.

So perhaps instead of trying to raise the minimum wage, we should be more focused on allowing more people to go to school by lowering tuition…but that’s a whole different story.