"Plain and simple, Congress must act to meet the needs of our constituents. We can do that by strengthening families and increasing the minimum wage." -- Paul Tonko Poverty continues to grow in America. The average minimum wage in the United States is $7.35 an hour- far too low in today’s society. Key expenses, for example, gas and housing prices, have gone up significantly since the minimum wage was last changed in 2007 (Wagner 52). The laws creating the minimum wage were intended to improve the standard of living and decrease poverty. Raising minimum wage is a vital step in decreasing poverty and giving every family the opportunity to survive and succeed. Millions of hard-working Americans are below the poverty line and need an increase in pay. Minimum wage must be raised because it will diminish poverty and assist the working class to support their families. In 1933 President Franklin D. Roosevelt produced a progression of economic policies called The New Deal. One of those policies which, became known as the minimum wage, guaranteed that all workers in America earn enough pay to provide for their families. The New Deal marked the beginning of federal control of wages to make certain every worker be able to earn a living wage. The economic system was created by people, is maintained by people, and is constantly modified by people (Cunningham 52). In order to sustain a vibrant economy, the government needs to help the poor with their resources. The poor are poor not because they don’t work, but because government has failed to provide wages that American families can survive on. Cost can be an issue but the cost to subsidize the workers with low-wage jobs are higher (Kukathus 49). Acknowledging ethical and reli... ... middle of paper ... ...s, 2007. Gitterman, Paul. Boosting Paychecks. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2010. Hart, Vivian. Bound by our Constitution. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1994. Kukathas, Uma. The Minimum Wage. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Merino, Noel. Poverty and Homelessness. Detroit, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Morris, Jenny. The Origins of Minimum Wage Legislation. Aldershot, England: Gower, 2002. Moss, Alan. Selling Out America’s Democracy. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 2008. Nordlund, Willis. The Quest for a Living Wage. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1997. Ramm, David. Jobs in America. Bronx, New York: H.W. Wilson, 2006. Stewart, Charles. Low-wage Workers in an Affluent Society. Chicago, Illinois: Nelson Hall, 2008. Wagner, Vicki. Poverty. Detroit, Michigan: Greenhaven Press, 2014
This article gives you a yes and no opinion on whether or not the F...
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.
To begin with, the government in the US needs to raise the minimum wage in order for people to rise above the poverty line, which will result in reduced government expenditures. Millions of people every day are working to support one’s family, but the Federal minimum wage is not enough money for families to spend on food. With 46.5 million people living in poverty in the United States, the government is f...
Nader, Ralph. “America’s Miserly Minimum Wage Needs an Upgrade.” The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 15 Apr. 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.
Barrack Obama’s State of The Union Address of 2013 caused a controversy that is still a relevant debate topic. Live from the United States Capitol, Obama clarified his perception on the minimum wage in America. Obama insisted that minimum wage should be increased because it would be a means of social justice to many Americans. Many Americans live in poverty and Obama believes that raising the minimum wage would assist some Americans to remove oneself from living in poverty and assist the economy from disintegrating. After hearing Obama’s State of The Union Address of 2013 and reading many articles concerning the raising of minimum wage, I believe minimum wage should be raised because it would decrease poverty, keep individuals from under the table jobs, and cause a decrease in taxes.
... work and it is Congress’s moral obligation to raise it to help the millions of people who, despite their hard work, are still in poverty.
The federal minimum wage was signed into law in 1938 by President Franklin Roosevelt, at the height of the Great Depression. Its stated purpose was to keep America’s workers out of poverty, and increase consumer purchasing power in order to stimulate the economy. In their article “Raising the Minimum Wage: The renewed Debate over Fair Labor Standards,” the Congressional Digest states:
The current U.S. federal minimum wage for untipped workers is currently $7.25 an hour, as it has been since 2009. At this rate, a full time employee would earn an annual salary of $15,080, meaning that a family of two people, for example a single working mother with one child, working a full time minimum wage job, would sit below the federal poverty line of $15,730 for two people (2014 Poverty Guidelines). While it is true that there are tax breaks such as those for children, and the Earned Income Tax that exist to help such people living in poverty, the fact exists that the wages in the US have not kept up with inflation and the cost of living. While the value of the federal minimum wage has risen 21% since 1990, the cost of living itself has risen 67% (Gilson). Opponents are quick to argue that only unskilled workers are paid minimum wag...
America is currently working on the issue of whether the minimum wage should be increased from $7.25 to $10.10 and economists are studying the effects of the possible increase. Minimum wage workers deal with struggles such as affording health care, paying for education, providing food for their families, putting many hours of work in while making little income and paying their bills. America’s decision to raise the minimum wage would help low wage workers to make higher incomes and would overall strengthen the economy, pulling Americans out of poverty. Americans may hold a minimum wage job if they do not have money to attend a college or university to obtain a degree in order to find a career.
Minimum wage is the lowest wage an employer can pay their employees. There is a Federal minimum wage and in some cases a State Minimum wage. The current Federal minimum wage is $7.25. An employee who makes $7.25 an hour and works 40 hours a week, will earn about $14,000 per year. The Federal government deemed that the poverty line is anyone who makes less than $17,000 a year (“Federal Minimum”). Therefore anyone that makes minimum wage lives below the poverty line. As president Obama said in his state of address, "In the wealthiest nation on earth, no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty” (“Federal Minimum”). This essay will examine the problem of low minimum wage and explore ways to resolve this issue.
Weather or not to increase minimum wage is currently a hot topic. Some feel that minimum wage should be increased while others say no. Minimum wage is the lowest wage payable to employees. Minimum wage should not be increased because if it is a lot of current minimum wage workers will be forced out of their jobs and could possibly lose everything.
Since its inception, the minimum wage has been a hotbed for debate. If today’s leaders could manage to increase minimum wage, millions of families would benefit.
How can hard working Americans live better lives in the United States? Wanting to earn a decent pay can lead Americans to work two or three jobs to make ends meet. If the United States were to raise the minimum wage, then millions of Americans would not be living at or below the poverty line. I researched this topic because I have worked in the industry making minimum wage and only getting less than part-time hours at my first job. At the time, I stayed with my parents and found it difficult to afford items that were everyday necessities. I felt as if I could not survive on my own making minimum wage, receiving less than full-time hours, consequently, I would need two jobs. I presumed that the minimum wage rose each time the cost of living went up. I contemplated the minimum wage would be at a rate that people could live off. I also thought that everywhere in the United States should have mandatory laws in place to raise the minimum wage in order to get struggling Americans out of poverty.
"Americans overwhelmingly agree that no one who works full time should ever have to raise a family in poverty... so join the rest of the country. say yes. give America a raise" (President Barack Obama 2014). This quote depicts that not a single human being that works hard at their job should ever have to be poor. This idea among many was part of President Barack Obama's state of the Union Address for 2014, promoting while seeking, a year of change to all American citizens. As a citizen of the United States, one knows the economic hardships and unemployment rates increasing. There needs to be a stop to these inclines, especially towards the poor and those becoming more educated with college. This is why I, for one agree with President Obama on raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. Raising the minimum wage slightly from $8.25 to $10.10 (only $1.85 increase) will have a huge impact on Americans today and even future Americans. Increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour will aid millions researchers say, through the economic values of food prices, small businesses unemployment rates, college students coping with college debt, and the poor living in a state of poverty.
“Of course, nothing helps families make ends meet like higher wages. … And to everyone in this Congress who still refuses to raise the minimum wage, I say this: If you truly believe you could work full-time and support a family on less than $15,000 a year, go try it. If not, vote to give millions of the hardest-working people in America a raise.”