Patrick Eguilos
Professor Robin N. Royer
Political Science 120
7 November 2016
Increase Minimum Wage
Introduction
The United States’ minimum wage has been a concerning issue amongst the low wage earners because of the amount they earn is not enough for them to live on their own. Therefore causing the citizens who earn minimum wage to have an impossible time finding a place to stay and expenses for daily survival. Increasing the minimum wage will solve the issues that the minimum wage earners make, thus increasing the chances of survival for the entire population. Inflation is one of the reasons why minimum wage is a big issue, the minimum wage has not been keeping up with inflation at all causing things that would regularly be cheap to be more costly than it used to be. There are people who are against the raise of the minimum wage and may say that there will be an increase between of unemployment rate between the younger people because of the fact
The current minimum wage is not high enough to allow people to afford housing Minimum wage is so low that it will not cover your housing payments either house, condo, or even apartment. People who earn minimum wage only do not earn enough money for any type of shelter by themselves, yes they are able to live with family but the people who have to live by themselves can not even fend for themselves with one minimum wage job. According to Swanson in What You’d Need to Earn in Every State to Rent a Decent Apartment she
There are a lot of people around the world who struggle with money and a satisfactory way of life. Whether they be in the United States or across the globe, there is a standard minimum wage set for the working class of their country. In the Unites States, there is a federal minimum wage of seven dollars and twenty five cents per hour worked. Almost every state has another set minimum wage, which typically is a little higher than the federal minimum wage, but it cannot be lower than seven dollars and twenty five cents. Countries set minimum wage laws, to ensure there is a basic quality of life amongst its citizens. As the minimum wage goes up in certain states, the quality of life also improves. The problem with a higher minimum wage, is now people are getting paid higher for entry level jobs which are meant for teenagers and people new to the workforce. If the minimum wage keeps increasing across the country, teenagers and young adults will have a much more difficult time finding jobs.
The minimum wage of today is not enough for Americans to live off. Nevertheless, obtaining two and three jobs to survive occurs to often and should not be consider a way to live in the United States. Workers of today making minimum wage simply do not earn enough to live off. As a result, they depend on the government to stay afloat. They apply for food stamps in order to buy food each month. Most or on some kind of public housing assistance, because they are
Raising the minimum wage is a very important public policy issue. Raising the minimum wage is a responsible policy that is supported by research and demanded by the American public. Each day, minimum wage workers across the country struggle to make ends meet and provide a decent life for their kids (Scott & Perez, 2016). Raising the minimum wage is a controversial issue, many believe that raising the minimum wage would only provide low wage workers more money to spend. However, the benefits can be endless for low wage workers. If minimum wage is increased across the United States it would afford the people effected more opportunities for financial freedom. Increasing the minimum wage would raise the standard of living for low wage workers, allow families to be removed from poverty, allow for government welfare spending to be reduced and lastly additional income being spent would positively affect the economy.
The minimum wage is one of the most controversial issues on our country, which is United States has been facing last ten years. There have been never ending debates over this issue until the government, company, and others party stand together, and raise the minimum wage throughout the nations. There are communities that believe raise the minimum wage has negative impact of every sector of the country. Other communities have different beliefs over the issue, raising the minimum wage helps the poor people, and would help not hurt our economy.
Also depending on where you live and how fast you grow, you will need to buy a variation of clothes for the winter and summer. With a family of four, it is almost incapable of happening. An average article of clothing cost anywhere between $15-30 for one piece. That is more than 2 hours of work. Imagine that, plus only getting an average of $290 a week. That will not last very long, which is very irritating to some people because they don’t want to let their family down, but raising minimum wage will help that tremendously. Another example that could take place is in an emergency like needing to stay late for work, and needing someone to babysit your kids. Many people cannot afford to do that with such little pay and have no choice but to leave work on time. With that happening and many not staying, that could cause them to lose their job, resulting in more poverty. To continue, minimum wage was created to stimulate the economy in 1938 (Sonn, Temple 1). Once minimum wage became a policy in the United States, it was successful in stimulating the economy when it was created because the federal minimum (if adjusted for inflation) was higher than today. Over the past 40 years, the power of minimum wage has fallen sharply. Minimum wage now, is about ⅔ percent of its previous power. The annual salary of a full-time American worker employed at $7.25 per hour is $15,080, which is less
The selling point that has brought people to the United States for centuries is the American dream: Prosperity, Luxury, Opportunity, and so on. Unfortunately for many, this dream has been squandered by the receding economy of an indebted country. As inflation runs rampant, the value of the U.S. dollar decreases, lowering the value of household and business incomes. This economic recession has led many, especially those who only earn the minimum wage, to poverty. According to the United States Department of Labor, “The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour” (“Wage and Hour Division”). Some people believe that a solution to this problem is to raise the minimum wage; however, doing so would ultimately result in a negative effect on the
Franklin Roosevelt introduced minimum wage as a part of Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. The purpose of minimum wage were to prevent poverty and to stimulate the economy by increasing consumer’s purchasing power. However, in 2015, 78.2 million workers were paid hourly, representing 58.5% of all workers in the United States. Among those people, 870,000 workers earned the minimum wage, $7.25 per hour and 1.7 million workers earned below the minimum. In total, 3.3% of workers earned exactly or below the minimum wage. For years, there have been heated debates about whether the government should raise the minimum wage. In 2016, California, New York, and Washington D.C. agreed to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour. Some people think raising the minimum wage will decrease poverty and improve the workers living. Instead, raising the minimum wage will make the job market more competitive and it will increase the poverty level. When minimum wage was raised to $10 per hour, it benefited 16 to 24 million people while half a million workers lost their job. Rather than improving, Faces of $15 will damage the U.S economy and deeply hurt living condition of Americans.
The controversy over minimum wage has been ongoing. However, as explained in a Time article by Chris Lu on the subject, now is the prime time to raise the federal minimum wage. “Three out of four Americans support an increase; the economy is healthy; and many employers are already raising wages.” It’s reasonable to be worried about the consequences that raising the minimum wage might have in a time of crisis or unrest, but this quote mentions a healthy economy that would be able to handle the shifts in wages if things went south temporarily. Another argument made by opposers of raising the minimum is that businesses will be unable to survive. On the contrary, a good business will find it beneficial. “‘It’s a simple, but critical, concept: take care of your people and they will take care of your customers.’ For &pizza, higher wages reduce employee turnover, increase productivity and improve customer service.” Rather than hurting the economy, raising the minimum wage will help workers, business owners and the economy itself. A higher wage for all is
U.S. Congress passed the federal minimum wage law in 1938 as part of their Fair Labor Standards Act. Federal minimum wages were intended to ensure fair wages were paid to an alarming amount of women and youths employed and paid substandard wages. This also seems to be the case today, where countless Americans who work full time, cannot make ends meet by making minimum wage. Evidence shows that raising the minimum wage would drive consumer spending, thus producing faster macroeconomic growth. Wage stagnation is one of the key things holding back our economy from growing the way we need it to.
Osborne v. Ohio, 495 U.S. 103 (1990), is a Supreme Court of the United States case in which the Court held that the First Amendment allows states to outlaw the mere possession, as distinct from the distribution, of child pornography. After Ohio police found photographs in petitioner Osborne's home, each of which depicted a nude male adolescent posed in sexually explicit position, he was convicted of violating a state statute prohibiting any person from possessing or viewing any material or performance showing a minor who is not his child or ward in a state of nudity unless the material or performance is presented for a
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 14% of the nation lives below the poverty line, the current population is 326,474,013, and 45,706,362 of the population lives in poverty every single day. One of the reasons why such a large chunk of the population is in poverty is because they are not being paid a reasonable salary for them to support themselves and their families. Raising the minimum wage can lead to problems, but gradual increases are made over time, it could be beneficial for millions of people around the nation. The positive effects of raising minimum wage is what makes it worth it. A raise in minimum wage can be beneficial; however, it must be a
Raising the minimum wage is a false idea that millions of Americans have; people believe it will put more money in their pocket and will be making more money than he or she is now. This is a wrong accusation to make. The people wanting to raise the minimum wage is the people of lower income levels. If the government raises the minimum wage, the cost of living is going to go up, guaranteed. Many people think that raising the minimum wage will help kids pay for school, when this actually encourages them to drop out early in the pursuit of money.
The minimum wage in the United States has been an ongoing controversy for many years now. The first minimum wage was established in 1938 (Reich, 2015, P. 3). That minimum wage started out at .25 cents an hour; compared to today’s higher wage of a government standard of $7.25 an hour. Many people believe that the minimum wage should be more so that those who live below the poverty level in the United States will decrease, however in many other people’s opinions the minimum wage should be the same. The minimum wage should stay the same at a low $7.25.
The minimum wage has arguably become the most controversial topic regarding our economy today, as it influences one of the largest classes of people within the United States, the working class. Federally, the minimum wage has not been raised in eight years, so it has stayed at $7.25 per hour for all non-exempt workers (U.S. DoL). The opinions on this topic are typically split across a progressive-conservative line, with progressives being in favor of a raise from $7.25, and conservatives wanting to stay at the current rate. This can be seen when looking at the typical progressive stances from states and municipalities that raise the minimum wage for businesses operating within their jurisdiction, since the higher rate among all levels of
The national minimum wage was introduced in the UK in April 1999 by the Labour government. Essentially it formed a major part of their manifesto as it convinced the average population that Labour were beneficial for everybody. However, they would argue against classical economics and suggest there are wide spread benefits to be gained. The main argument is that the NMW would alleviate poverty across the country.