Persuasive Essay On Minimum Wage

Raising minimum wages is a contestable issue because it is debated in wide and varied audiences. Minimum wage is near the top of economists’ interest; they are looking for the connection between low wages and poor job markets. Each country sets its own laws and regulations regarding wages. For this reason, it has significant importance to policy makers and workers in each of those respective countries. Social activists have also found interest in the topic due to the fact that those who earn a minimum wage tend to come from poor minority families. Furthermore, the average American should have the strongest interest in the conversation because most citizens have been paid a minimum wage at some point in their life. Due to this fact, the idea of a significant federal minimum wage increase in America is open for debate specifically to rejuvenate the job industry, improve living conditions for citizens, and strengthen the economy as a whole.

Mike Durant once said, “Making it more expensive to create new jobs is a perfect way to guarantee fewer of them.” The recent, “Raise the Wage” campaigns have sparked an interest in many low-wage workers. However, those who support this initiative are unaware of the economic problems that will arise if this is successful. Several cities have already raised their minimum wages and some, like Seattle, are raising it as high as $15 per hour. Currently, supporters of this campaign argue that the government should implement this increase federally. However, doing so will have broad and adverse financial implications. Ever since the Great Depression, the minimum wage has been in effect — to reduce poverty and solidify that

Before discussing the potential implications of raising the federal minimum wage, it is important to understand why such action is necessary. By historical standards, the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 is fairly low (Weissmann 1). Adjusted for inflation, the minimum wage today is over three dollars less than when its real value peaked in 1968 (ibid). Although many state and local governments have passed laws setting the minimum wage above that of the federal level, the majority of states have not, despite rising levels of GDP, productivity and cost of living. Since 1968, the average American, at all levels of income and in almost all occupations, has worked 163 more hours per year, the equivalent of a month (Schor 26). Additionally, worker productivity has doubled since that time, as indicated by Real GDP per hour worked in the United States (“Real GDP”). So although the average worker is twice as productive now as he was in 1968, his real wage earned is

Mike Durant once said, “Making it more expensive to create new jobs is a perfect way to guarantee fewer of them.” The recent, “Raise the Wage” campaigns have sparked an interest in many low-wage workers. However, those who support this initiative are unaware of the economic problems that will arise if this is successful. Several cities have already raised their minimum wages and some, like Seattle, are raising it as high as $15 per hour. Currently, supporters of this campaign argue that the government should implement this increase federally. However, doing so will have broad and adverse financial implications. Ever since the Great Depression, the minimum wage has been in effect — to reduce poverty and solidify that employees

Minimum wage always seems like a topic of conversation in the media. As of now, the current set minimum wage has been claimed as not being a livable wage, therefore there has been an outcry to raise it. However, we cannot turn a blind eye to what that may do to our economy. While raising the minimum wage can have a beneficial effects of providing a livable wage, reducing the need for dependent of poverty-focused government resources, and may even reduce crime, there can be many hidden problems that crop up through the woodwork that can undermine this improvement.

In America, the current minimum wage sits at $7.25 an hour, but as the cost of living has gone up, the amount paid to some of America’s hardest workers has not. This has left many people working several minimum wage jobs in order to try and get by. This struggle to make it paycheck to paycheck has created an incredibly large economic gap between the rich and poor, something that has largely contributed to the fight for fifteen. With many Americans sitting in the low to middle class demographic, there is plenty of outcry and support for the minimum wage to be raised from $7.25 an hour to anywhere from $10.10 to $15 an hour depending on the city and that city’s specific cost of living. This issue, as most issues do, has pinned many people against each other; some are all for this much needed raise in minimum wage, after all, this raise would help out most of America’s workers. On the other hand however, the consequences of this drastic raise can only be speculated about since worker’s pay hasn’t really been messed with since the late sixties. While there are good points in favor of raising minimum wage such as, allowing people to live more comfortably, and getting people off of public assistance programs, there are also the negative aspects about this pending public policy. Some of these cons are a raise in prices, a loss of jobs or hours, and the cutting out of young teenage workers from the job force. Many cities plan on raising minimum wage over the

Raising the minimum wage to $10.10 is the most effective way to increase income for low-wage workers. Setting the minimum wage at $10.10 would allow low-wage workers to “receive higher pay that would increase their family’s income, and some of those families would see their income rise above the federal poverty threshold”. A report from the CBO expects that “increases in the minimum wage probably reduce employment for some low-wage workers.” This is a possible downside to increasing wages, but there are benefits far outweigh the costs. This is proven in the CBO projects that increasing the wages will bring “about 900,000 people, on net, above the poverty threshold”. A movement of people out of poverty in the

A sensitive topic for many Americans is their income. Many people’s income relies on minimum wage. In 2012, 3.6 million people received an hourly pay at or below the national minimum wage. There is an ongoing debate in Congress as to what the national minimum wage should be. Currently at $7.25, Obama has suggested raising the national minimum wage to $9.00. Depending on a person’s economic perspective, raising minimum wage could be positive or negative. Minimum wage has the ability to change lives. Small businesses and unemployment, teenage demographics, and the cost of civilian goods would be most affected.

On an annual basis, workers who work full time at a job that pays the federal minimum wage make $12,920 before taxes. Considering this level of income is at the borderline of the federal poverty level of $11,770, many in the U.S.- low wage workers, farmers, and even economists- are calling for a reexamination of the minimum wage policy. The purpose of minimum wage laws is to ensure lower-class families receive a living wage which enables them to live with dignity. Advocates of minimum wage hike question if the current minimum wage level is serving its intended purpose. This report will investigate the rationale and implications of raising

In today’s society a lot of the different countries around the world have established some sort of minimum wage. The first minimum wage law in the United States was established in 1912 in the state of Massachusetts. Several states would follow suit over the next two decades, and, in 1938 at the height of the Great Depression Congress established the first federal minimum wage as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The minimum wage was last increased (to $3.35) in 1981. Since then, average hourly wages have risen by 25 percent, eliminating any momentum for a lower minimum wage for youth but reviving proposals for another increase in the nominal minimum (Brown, 1988).

The American Dream is that all citizens can fulfill their potential through hard work and perseverance. Many Americans work long hours under the belief that they are fulfilling their social contract. Yet, even lengthy work weeks at minimum wage can be insufficient to provide for life’s necessities. Many minimum wage workers must supplement their income with taxpayer-funded federal assistance programs in addition to working beyond the standard 40 hour work week. There is an economical and ethical imperative to increase the pay of low-income workers, and this can most effectively be done by raising the federally established minimum wage. The federal government assumed responsibility for ensuring wage fairness by implementing the minimum wage in 1938. However, the federal minimum wage has not kept pace with inflation and is no longer effectively ensuring wage fairness. Recognizing the need for increased income among unskilled workers, several cities, states, and major businesses have raised their local minimum wage beyond the federal level. Yet, this affects only a small portion of workers. It is imperative that the federal government update the established minimum wage across the board to help all workers achieve the American Dream.

Over two decades, raising the minimum wage was and still is a concern for thousands of Americans. “ In January, 19 US states raised their respective minimum wages” ( McBride ). Those who have jobs that pay minimum wage needed that wage increase to better support their families. Many Americans see only the benefits of raising the wage and if one goes against raising it, then they are misinterpreted. The negative effects of raising the minimum wage outweigh the benefits. With the United States unpredictable economic downfalls over the years, changing something as big as the minimum wage is risky. While America’s economy is stable, nothing should be changed to effect that. The minimum wage shouldn’t be further increased because it continues to have a negative effect on the United States’s economy and citizens.

Minimum wage is a topic of considerable controversy and a significant source of economic stratification. Essentially, the minimum wage policy is what defines the baseline income of “low level” or “starting positions.” Here in the U.S. most individuals will at some point in their life hold a minimum wage position. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 58.5% of U.S. citizens were paid at hourly rates, and about 2.6 million workers are actively working in positions that earn the federal minimum wage or less. Unfortunately, in certain circumstances, minimum wage income is not sufficient to support individuals’ and families’ cost of living. Arising from this issue is the

Economic analyses have proven that a minimum wage creates massive unemployment as well as decreases the relative pay for all white-collar workers (Bell 116). Supporters of a minimum wage fail to understand the simple laws of economics and instead dream about utopian societies in which all negative ailments dwindle and nothing is left but a falsely constructed reality in which the minimum wage can simultaneously boost employment, regrow the size of the middle class, and solve all economic quarrels. The minimum wage does improve efficiency per worker, but this benefit results only from the termination of thousands of unskilled workers in an economy (Stigler 358). All in all, the standard, governmentally mandated minimum wage overwhelming acts as a cancerous and detrimental economic policy, providing no net economic benefits, but causing widespread unemployment and a sharp decrease in relative pay for all white-collar

A sensitive topic for many Americans is their income. Many people’s income relies on minimum wage. In 2012, 3.6 million people received an hourly pay at or below minimum wage. There is an ongoing debate in government as to what the minimum wage should be. Stuck at $7.25, Obama has suggested raising the minimum wage to $9.00. Depending on a person’s perspective, raising minimum wage could be positive or negative. Minimum wage has the ability to change lives, and change the economy. Small businesses and unemployment, teenage demographics, and the cost of civilian goods would be most affected.The only mystery is whether things would change for the better or for the worse.