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The impact of the national minimum wage
The effect of minimum wage laws
The effects of raising the minimum wage
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Summary of “The Argument Against Minimum Wage” In this article Rex Huppke gives the argument against raising minimum wage. Huppke refers to raising minimum wage as “ like chipping away at a problem with a hammer when more precise tools are at hand.” The goal of minimum wage is to gain experience, education, and skills while first entering the workforce. The goal after that is to move up to a better paying job with the experience education, and knowledge learned. Allan Sanderson, a senior lecturer in the University of Chicago’s Department of Economics states that he would rather people have skills and improve on them. Sanderson and other economist and public policy experts are afraid of how bad the several consequences of raising minimum
The minimum wage has always been a controversial subject that has more and more people debating about the subject. While the talk about minimum wages are highly popular it is an important subject to get informed about if you’re an employee or employer because it has to deal with your money. What is minimum wage? Minimum wage is the hourly wage an employer can pay an employee for his or her work. While the talk about raising the minimum wage has caused some attention in both negative and positive. Nevertheless, the topic that the minimum wage offers substantial benefits to low wage workers without any negative effects to business owners has a growing view among economists.
Imagine working under poor conditions for over 40 hours a week to afford basic human necessities only to remain nothing more than a cog in a corporal machine seen unworthy of livable wages. While this may seem unrealistic, it proves as reality for many lower class Americans. Minimum wage has seen a drastic decline in relation to the inflation of living costs, an issue addressed in Lew Prince’s, “The American Dream Needs a Fair Minimum Wage”. In the article, Prince, a business owner, states, “... in 1979, the minimum wage was $2.90 -- that would be $9.50, adjusted for inflation in 2014 dollars”. Even with this information, many americans above the poverty level line argue against an increase in wages. Although opinions often
Minimum wage is a topic that has been popping up since the 1980s. From whether we should lower it, or even raise it, but now in the 2000s minimum wage has been the center of attention more than ever. There are two sides to this topic of minimum wage; whether it creates more jobs or does not create jobs. Those who argue that raising minimum wage will create more jobs will have a rebuttal which is that it does not only cause the loss of jobs but that it would make things much worse and vice versa for those arguing raising minimum wage will cause loss of jobs. There will be two authors representing opposite views, Nicholas Johnson supporting minimum wage will not cost jobs with his article “ Evidence Shows Raising Minimum Wage Hasn’t Cost Jobs”
Many people against raising the minimum wage create arguments such as, “it will cause inflation”, or, “ it will result in job loss.” Not only are these arguments terribly untrue, they also cause a sense of panic towards the majority working-class. Since 1938, the federal minimum wage has been increased 22 times. For more than 75 years, real GDP per capita has consistently increased, even when the wage has been
Throughout the decade, a continuous firing debate still remains, whether to raise the minimum wage or keep as it is. People believe that raising the minimum wage can hurt the economy. More will lose jobs than gain. Though all are true, the amount of poverty shown throughout the decades are jaw dropping. That is in fact one of the leading factors. As there is yin and yang, the demand for a higher minimum wage is no coincidence or selfishness as others perceive as is. The poverty shown throughout the decade is deadly prominent. Minimum wage should be raised as people are not gaining enough money compared to the past, despite with more education, too many low quality jobs, “in active” unemployment are outcasted from the statistics, and finding jobs is more difficult than it was decades ago.
Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour has been extensively debated over the last year or so. Minimum wage is the undermost wage allowed by law to be given to an employee for their services. Introduced in 1939, its purpose was to stabilize the economy, which was healing from the Great Depression. Most importantly, it was designed to protect the health and welling-being of employees. Currently, the Federal Government 's minimum is $7.25 per hour ($14,500 per year). The ones in favor of the increase are saying that it used to be a living wage; however, now it is not and it now needs to be line with changes to the cost of living. In addition, an increase in minimum wage can increase the productivity and decrease income inequality and poverty. On the other spectrum, the ones who are against the increase are saying that the increased labor cost will drive up unemployment, affect small businesses negatively, and cause other workers from different
Currently, in the United States, the federal minimum wage has been $7.25 for the past six years; however, in 1938 when it first became a law, it was only $0.25. In the United States the federal minimum wage has been raised 22 times since 1938 by a significant amount due to changes in the economy. Minimum wage was created to help America in poverty and consumer power purchasing, but studies have shown that minimum wage increases do not reduce poverty. By increasing the minimum wage, it “will lift some families out of poverty, while other low-skilled workers may lose their jobs, which reduces their income and drops their families into poverty” (Wilson 4). When increasing minimum wage low-skilled, workers living in poor families,
"The rich get richer while the poor get poorer." This quote was originally stated in William Henry Harrison's 1840 speech but sadly enough can still be used today to describe our economic downfall and crisis. With California currently holding a minimum wage at $10 many argue that this just isn’t cutting it anymore. One of the only ways to live prosperously on this income is to work, relentlessly, day in and day out. With many people living day-to-day and paycheck- to-paycheck, it is safe to say that the place minimum wage is right now is not working for most of the nation. With our developing economy, standards of living, unemployment rate, and debatable employee morale, it just seems right to increase the minimum wage.
Americans are not wrong in thinking that increasing the minimum wage will increase low-wage working families’ incomes, and some of these families will rise above the national poverty threshold. While increasing the minimum wage might benefit some American families, it will hurt others. Increasing the minimum wage will eliminate many low wage jobs, which would then result in many people jobless and therefore, a substantial drop in those individuals’ household incomes (“The Effects of a Minimum-Wage Increase on Employment and Family Income”). . “Raising the country’s minimum wage could boost the incomes of millions of Americans, but it could also potentially cut total employment by hundreds of thousands of workers” (Kurtzleben). An increase in the minimum wage lowers employment, which makes it harder for these workers with minimal skills to find a job. Congress then explains that low income families will actually not bring in any benefits from an increase of the minimum wage (“Would an Increase in the Federal Minimum Wage Help or Hinder Small Business” 2-3). While increasing the minimum wage might raise the standards of living for some low wage workers and families, if the increase in minimum wage reduces employment rates, there is no certain answer on what
Most people during their lifetime have worked for a company in which they received minimum wage, I know I have and I am only 19 years of age. Well in 2013, 3.3 million people of the American workforce made the minimum wage, and of that 3.3 million people, nearly fifty-five percent were adults over twenty-five years old working full-time. With the current minimum wage at $7.25, there is no doubt that it is not sufficient to support a family with that amount. Although many people and many industries believe that the minimum wage should be raised to as much as $15 per hour, raising it to that level may be extreme. Minnesota raised its state minimum wage from $8 per hour to $9 per hour for companies making over $500,000 annually, effecting more
If the minimum wage increases, those people that are skilled and well trained with salaries over the minimum wage could feel the competition from those unskilled workers who will have a raise. These high skilled employees could demand a higher rate, making things even more difficult to a business owner. Therefore, an individual must build experience and knowledge through out the minimum wage; in addition, a well-experienced worker has higher possibilities to get into a better position with a higher income. In addition, education is a fundamental milestone in any individuals’ life in which holds the roots of success; a well-educated individual could have a broader window of success and a job that gives him or her a peaceful life. The economy of the US can be harmed if the minimum wage increases. In addition, restaurant chains’ owners could look into technology improvements to prevent the hike in the workers’ wage. As Lydia DePillis in her article on the Washington Post writes, “Many chains are already at work looking for ingenious ways to take humans out of the picture…” she argues that technology already has led thousands of workers from in many airports, grocery stores, tollbooths, gas stations, banks, and automotive factories jobless and similarly could occur if the minimum wages keeps growing. Some big-chain restaurants could
Raising the minimum wage is a temporary fix to a long term problem. The direct problem at stake is not the minimum wage itself, it’s really the incom...
For many people in the United States, life is no more than a regular work cycle. Members of working class usually have a High School diploma and may work in a low skilled occupation or manual labor. Most of the enjoying age of this people is spent in working, as they don’t want their new once to have a life they struggling through. Therefore, this essay will argue that minimum wage should be increased federally to $15/hour by 2017. Firstly, if taxes touches the sky, why should the minimum wage be on the ground? Increasing minimum wages would also create new opportunities for education as the students wouldn’t have to work crazy hours. Likewise, many couples won’t have to work multiple jobs in order to manage the household. Lastly, it will lift
About “75.3 million people ages sixteen and over worked for hourly wages in 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics” (“Minimum Wage”). Meaning almost a quarter of the workforce in this nation are working a minimum wage job. Numerous people believe that these workers are not able to make ends meet, and increasing the minimum wage will help these individuals substantially. Even though people believe that increasing the minimum wage will benefit the society, they tend to overlook the drawbacks of increasing the minimum wage, and how it will prove to be detrimental to the society. People believe that increasing the minimum wage will reduce poverty and improve the living standards of the individuals.
For the past three decades minimum wage has been seen to rise several times. Only helping some but more than anything harming most. So who are the ones feeling the effects? Certainly not the wealthy, it never is them, mainly it would be the working poor, unskilled and teenagers. Raising minimum wage would cripple the public even more than what it would actually help.