Minimum Wage Argumentative Essay

“You can never tell a book by it's cover”, just as Edwin Rolfe wrote, you can not tell what an article is saying just by its heading. The article I chose to write on was “Ontario’s minimum wage jumping to $15 in 2019”. This article talks about the promised plan to raise the minimum wage. I felt that the article argued both sides but was leaning towards the negatives of the promises. However, like most other articles, this one also lacked input from the people that it would affect the most, such as the small businesses, and input from several reliable experts. The author, had an excellent choice of words and made the quotes both defend and argue for both sides. Still, the argument was a little biased, and argued a bit more that these are only promised changes, and that this procedure is only to campaign, and not for the public’s benefit.

Minimum wage is the lowest possible wage permitted by law to receive for working everyday jobs. In America, the average minimum wage is roughly ranging from $7.25-$9.00 depending on where a person may live. Through three arguments I have received I have accumulated much knowledge pertaining to minimum wage in America. All three arguments suggest what they believe should be done in regards to whether minimum wage should be raised or stay the same. After watching “Thirty Days in Minimum Wage” by Morgan Spurlock, reading “Economists Argue About Minimum Wages” from The Economist, and reading a minimum wage piece from a news article. I have gained enough facts to realize that I believe that minimum wage should be raised in America.

The minimum wage is defined as the lowest compensation, by law, which an employer may pay his or her employees. In the United States, this monetary value is set by a collection of laws on the federal, state, and local levels. While state and local governments may choose to observe a higher minimum wage than the national minimum wage, the federal government ultimately controls the income of the nation’s lowest-earning employees. At the federal level, the minimum wage was last raised in 2009, from $6.55 to $7.25 per hour. Yet, since 2009, the minimum wage has stayed the same, while the cost of living continues to climb. For this reason, an initiative to raise the minimum wage has numerous supporters, whose key arguments are the reduction of poverty and the increase in efficiency. At the same time, however, opponents of raising the minimum wage claim that it would result in unemployment and would be harmful to businesses. Although their arguments are valid, proponents of raising the minimum wage fail to see the effects of an increase in labor costs on employers. With any cost, one party benefits while another party pays. Furthermore, a raise in minimum wage, and an increase in the cost of labor, will result in losses not only for the employer, but also for the employee. Therefore, for those members of society who fall below the poverty line, raising the current minimum wage will do more harm than good.

There are many people that feel minimum wage workers should have their salaries increased to benefit their lifestyle. However, at the same time others feel that the federal minimum wage shouldn’t be increased because it will have worsen the amount of poverty in our country. The main concerns of the opponents include the decrease in employment and the increase of prices.

Today, the minimum wage conversation is becoming an increasingly controversial, yet common topic. Many people are unsympathetic concerning the idea of a “living wage”, and they often belief that individuals should go to college or learn a trade if he or she wants a living wage. However, some individual’s life circumstances do not allow for opportunities that you or I have. Additionally, many individuals are misinformed about who the minimum wage increase actually benefits.

The primary reason for many non-politically driven arguments for a hike in minimum wage has been the cost of living increases which have marched upwards over the years, meaning the price of survival in the United States has been increasing steadily over the years. However, many of those pushing for an increase in minimum wage have failed to take into account that those who work at minimum wage are not usually the same ones who are working for just their survival; they are people who have been unlucky enough in their lives to be forced into supporting medical care or are people who are supporting families as a single parent. The people who live on minimum wage are typically the ones who need the most. According to Eric Schlosser’s book Fast

A main argument against raising the minimum wage is directed at the audience of people who would benefit from an increase. It is believed by many that the population of people earning minimum wage is dominated by suburban

Did you know minimum wage was $0.25 per hour in 1938? Since then it has raised to a whopping $7.25. Most readers will agree that there is a problem with this current minimum wage, considering the cost of living and salaries, Etc. However, they might not understand the complexity of the issue. In fact, the topic is not simply a question of if the minimum wage should be increased or kept the same, but more of a complex issue involving the different viewpoints on why people agree or disagree. Some reasons why people might agree is: decreasing poverty, increase in government aiding, and cannot afford basic needs. In opposition, opponents of the minimum wage might say it increases poverty, increases unemployment (specifically among unskilled or

The authors of this essay express a strong sense of support for the raise of minimum wage. They argue that providing all workers with a livable wage will not only benefit them but society as a whole. “A job that pays a living wage isn’t just good for the workers who get to take home a livable paycheck, it’s good for other business owners and the economy as a whole. Businesses need people with a reasonable income to buy their goods. When workers are paid so little that they can barely afford to eat, they can’t spend additional money and as a result, the entire economy suffers” (The Daily Take Team 386). This is a reasonable argument to consider. It is only obvious that when workers are barley paid enough to provide food for their families, they will not be out buying from local business and putting

It appears that the poor are done much more damage than good through minimum wage increases. Neumark et al. (1999) provide the following background in that regard:

It is currently hot topic with the upcoming presidential elections. It is also a very important topic in economics because of how it could hurt or help our ever fragile economy. It is also topic that can get very personal for people. The topic is minimum wage. I believe that increasing minimum wage would increase the worker’s quality of life, decrease tax payer’s money spent on public assistance programs, put more money back into our economy and lower the turnover rate for the effected jobs.

Minimum wage is the lowest payment that workers may legally obtain from employers. Minimum wage has a direct impact on unemployment. Rise of minimum wage would affect low wage workers because it would eliminate some jobs. Several economists have raised their concerns towards the increase of wages because they believe that the business firms would have to reduce labors in order to maintain their expenditures. In the year 2013, President of America, Barrack Obama took initiatives to increase the hourly wage of full-time workers. This idea could not be implemented because many Republican leaders proposed that it could have a direct impact on the employment of workers. There are many arguments that have been carried out by economists and researchers in

Legislation to raise the minimum wage in the United States is a necessary tool to assist working impoverished families. Mike Konczal states, “Raising the minimum wage to $10.10 would lift 4.6 million people out of poverty" (33). As well as lifting millions from poverty, the increase would greatly impact those living in extremely poor conditions and shrink how far below the poverty line others are. These figures display the minimum wage’s necessary role in the alleviation of poverty. It is well known that families who emerge from poverty are unlikely to return to their former conditions. Economists argue that the poor can be helped in better ways

In our modern day economy over four million americans are paid the federal minimum wage of seven dollars and twenty-five cents. People living on the federal minimum wage can attest to the fact that it is not really living, it is more a game of surviving. While the top twenty percent of americans hold over eighty-five percent of wealth the remaining eighty percent of us are left with only fifteen percent of the wealth to fight for. It is not fair for there to be a person spending lavishly while there is another struggling to live. The minimum wage should be raised to fifteen dollars an hour, because it clears people’s worries of financial instability, creates a larger middle class, and makes the minimum

An interesting article about the minimum wage: it emphasizes the self-interested perspective most people have when benefits are not extended to themselves. Top executives see their salaries/benefits increase substantially year after year and instead of taking our frustration out on them we blame our fellow working man. Not implying that all working men/women are altruistic or all wealthy people are greedy snobs, but the increasing gap between the rich and poor is alarming.