Argumentative Essay: Raising The Minimum Wage

Right now,according to Victoria Smith,over 40 million people are living in poverty. This could be changed if they were able to get enough money from their jobs, but the minimum wage isn’t high enough right now. Even if only by a little, if minimum wage were raised, the amount of people living in poverty could be reduced by at least 5 million according to Mike Konczal . Originally, the minimum wage was at only .25 cents an hour. Due to causes such as inflation, this wage has been raised to meet the current standard. Although interest in raising the wage has gone away until recently. Minimum wage should be increased because it would increase job growth and economic activity,it would reduce government spending on welfare, and reduce poverty.

Raise the minimum wage: In the United States, studies show that women tend to make up a disproportionate share of low-wage workers. In the field of education, men tends to go more to STEM than women and that also leads to high paying jobs for men. If we raise the minimum wage, this will help hardworking women to support their families. Approximately, women made up two-thirds of all minimum-wage workers in 2012. With the current federal minimum wage i.e. $7.25 per hour, someone working full time, only earn $15,080 a year round. People working full time with minimum wage is still below the poverty threshold for any family with children and single person is also not far above the poverty line. So, increasing the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour would help increase the wages for about 15 million women, which will help close the gender wage gap.

The federal minimum wage should be raised $10.10 an hour. The reason why the federal minimum wage should be raised is because having a job extremely hard as it is, therefore the government should contribute into helping the citizens and make their lives better. Looking for a job is very difficult and once people have found a job than it should pay enough for their well living and other aspect of their lives. People are constantly complaining about how they are not getting paid enough, but are required to work at least full time to pay their utility bills, phone bills, gas bills, etc… I myself have been working hoping to find a decent car for legitimate transportation; which

The government spends millions of dollars supporting poor families every year. Since the government is already in an estimated $19.4 trillion debt as of 2016, raising the minimum wage would be a way to save them money and pay back some of that debt (Lantigua-Williams). By raising the minimum wage to $10.10, 1.7 million workers would no longer need governmental support to be financially stable. With this amount of people no longer needing the government's help, the government will have extra money to use. Just from the increase of minimum wage, the government would save $4.6 billion from not having to send out as many food stamps alone. And over just one year, the increase in pay would reduce the government spending on income-support programs by $7.6 billion (“Should Federal Minimum”). The government will be able to use this money on other important things that will help the country grow and

If the government raised the minimum wage, then the amount of people in poverty would decline. The poverty line in 2015 was $12,331 a year, only 20 percent below a full-time minimum wage worker’s annual salary of $15,080 (Should the Federal). As a result, minimum-wage citizens can barely meet their living needs. A study completed by the National Low Income Housing Coalition in 2015 said that a worker must earn $15.50 an hour to be able to rent a one bedroom apartment. If someone needed a two bedroom apartment they would need to earn $19.35 an hour (Should the Federal). More people would be able to find adequate housing or their family if minimum wage were to increase. As a result. Less people would be living on the streets. If the minimum wage was raised to $9 an hour, over 300,000 people would be lifted out of poverty. Even better, raising minimum wage to $10.10 an hour would result in over 900,000 people out of poverty (Should the Federal). Consequently, more people would be living comfortably if the minimum wage were to be raised. Poverty levels

Should America’s minimum wage be raised from $7.25 all the way to $15 an hour? Many are for raising it because they say it will decrease the amount of families living uncomfortably in poverty struggling to pay rent, feed their children, and make ends meet. But those who are against it, say it will increase the amount of businesses going bankrupt and will drive unemployment sky high. Critics of minimum wage say that minimum wage should be changed to living wage which will take the economy into account and would provide families with enough to live a comfortable lifestyle. Raising minimum wage in the United States to $15 an hour would be a bad idea for three reasons, earnings per share in even large stores would plummet, it would drive unemployment to an all-time high, and it will not take the economy into account.

Currently the minimum wage is $7.25 an hour in most states. Recently, people have been lobbying to raise the minimum wage. Those petitioning do not recognize how raising the minimum wage will affect the economy and many people’s lives in a negative fashion. Endorsers believe that raising the minimum wage will help those who are poor, but in reality it will cause more people to succumb to poverty. For the sake of all Americans, we must educate the lobbyist regarding the effects of raising the minimum wage.

Minimum wage is currently a very heavily debated topic. Many are in favor of raising the current national minimum wage of $7.25 to a more livable wage; suggestions for this increase are anywhere between $9-15 per hour. While the minimum wage has been raised several times throughout the years, it has not been kept proportional to raises in inflation which has led to a decrease in the amount of goods that people are able to buy with those wages, in turn making their economic lives more difficult. Those that are trying to live and survive off of minimum wage are naturally most concerned with this issue as it greatly impacts their life and well-being, however, it is also an issue that concerns the whole nation as raising the minimum wage could end up in higher tax rates or higher prices by way of inflation.

The people of America are all for raising minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour but what the people do not know is that raising minimum wage is not going to help the people in poverty. Raising minimum wage is only going to hurt the people in the middle and lower class by making the cost of living go up, leaving the people with education based jobs making around the same income, and creating a bigger career mess.

If the minimum wage were to go up, people would not have a reason to improve their education. This would bring the lower-class and middle-class together, creating a bigger gap between the upper-class, and that of the average U.S. citizen. The average upper-class family makes roughly 70 times the average income of a lower-class family (Fry). According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, right now only 3.3 percent of hourly paid workers are paid minimum wage. Raising the minimum wage will greatly increase the percent of people who are paid minimum wage. The amount of workers who would need to further their education to get a good job will decline. The average pay for workers who only have a high school diploma of less is $14.64 (Earnings). Increasing the minimum wage will nearly eliminate the lower half of the average. Therefore, this will make it so people will not have to attend college to get a job to satisfy their wants. People need to go

Minimum wage should be increased to help reduce poverty in the United States. Increasing the minimum wage would also help stimulate the economy by giving low-income workers, who often live paycheck to paycheck with little or no savings, more money to spend. The national minimum wage has not been increased since 2009, and over the years has not kept pace with inflation, leaving a large gap between minimum wage and the cost of living. A boost in the national minimum wage would also encourage higher education and lower unemployment rates. The national minimum wage should be increased to help reduce poverty, boost the economy, encourage workers to join the workforce and continue their education, thereby raising the standard of living of American

According to Perez, “more than three-quarters of the American People believe we should increase the minimum wage according to a Gallup Poll.” (2014). Perez even states, “57 percent of entrepreneurs support raising the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour.” (2014). Unfortunately, we would have to wait two years from now in 2018 till the minimum wage of $10.10 an hour is to be effective. The problem with this, according to Gale is that

It is very difficult to live in America if you are living off of minimum wage, and many Americans are living off of it today. Raising minimum wages has its benefits like earning more money to live better, but people do not see the downside of the increases in wages. With the increase in minimum wage, it also causes the cost of living to increase. “People that live in high living standards have adopted their own living wage requirements”. (McAdams Pg. 513) With the increase in minimum wage it can have a lot of effect on people and businesses.

First, the people who will benefit most from a higher minimum wage are the low and middle income families. Poverty is a huge issue in the U.S., and a higher minimum wage would decrease the amount of people living in poverty by 2.8% (about 900,000 people) (Halvorson 1). Decreasing poverty is a vast step to ameliorating the lives of Americans. Being able to live on a higher minimum wage would be exceedingly beneficial, and even crucial to people living in poverty. If the minimum wage was raised to $10.10 an hour, it is estimated that 16.5 million people would have higher incomes leaving only half a million (3%) jobless (Halverson 1). Just raising the minimum

The minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour and has not increased since 2009. This is one of the most controversial questions in America today, should the federal minimum wage be raised, lowered or eliminated? The minimum wage, which covers 90% of American workers, should be raised. Changes to the minimum wage would benefit the economy, society and possibly lift Americans out of poverty. Since 1938 the economy has recovered considerably from the Great Depression which began in 1929 and ended in 1939.