One of the issues going around the U.S. Senate is raising the minimum wage.

Question: If employers are forced to give pay raises to its minimum wage earners, who pays for that?

Do the employers pay that?

Not really. If a restaurant is forced to pay more money to its employees, then it's going to raise the prices of its meals in order to sustain its profit margin. Or, its going to reduce the quality or quantity of the food it serves. Manufacturers would have to raise the prices of its products. Service providers would have to raise the prices of its services.

So, who pays for a raise in the minimum wage? The consumers do.

But as it turns out, minimum wage earners are consumers too.

So at one end, minimum wage earners will earn more income. But at the same time, the cost of groceries, gasoline, services, utilities, will all increase along with it. It's clear that raising minimum wage really doesn't help minimum wage earners one bit.

But it actually ends up hurting a different demographic.

My next door neighbor, for example, who has four kids, relies solely on his income from the Navy. His income is currently well above the minimum wage. Yet, his family still struggles to keep from going broke. His wife stays home to raise all four kids, so she doesn't earn an income.

If Congress passes a raise in the minimum wage, his family would be forced to pay more for their groceries, gasoline, services and utilities. But he won't get a raise in income because he's already earning well above the minimum.

The solution is to instead reduce the employers' costs. If employers paid less in taxes, less in benefits, less in social security matching, and less for their raw materials, then it could afford to pay its employees more. In fact, it could lower the prices of its goods and services, so that consumers would have more money to spend.

Our Congress needs to instead find ways to help employers reduce their costs.