Argumentative Essay On Minimum Wage

2003 Words5 Pages

Minimum Wage

The minimum wage being too low has been a public issue in America for generations. Basically, the debate includes two different opinions. Firstly, people who want to raise the minimum wage, and second, people who would rather is stay the same. The overwhelming majority of liberals are on the side that favors a raise. Additionally, a somewhat smaller proportion of conservatives favor the change as well, but for different reasons. The liberal opinion on raising the minimum wage is based on the idea that putting more money in the people’s pockets, will stimulate the economy, and decrease poverty. The problem that conservatives and liberals alike have with this, is that a few direct consequences are proven to apply when raising wages. Some proposed consequences include unemployment, inflation, and unfairness to higher educated people. Another main point is that raising the minimum wage is thought to helps small business by increasing worker satisfaction. This issue of minimum wage has become increasingly popular and important in current times, as president Obama has proposed the idea of raising the minimum wage of contract workers to 10.10$ per hour (about a 30% increase from the current 7.25$ per hour minimum wage). A large number of people consider this wage hike unnecessary due to the fact that today’s value of minimum is higher than it has ever been since the 80’s, and because the wage hike comes at too high of a cost. All things considered, the issue of raising minimum wage is not a battle of political parties and their agendas, its really a debate between everyone.
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...

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...age gap, aiming for the easy way out is just not the right way of doing this. It’s not the American way of doing things. America was built upon principles of awarding the successful and working for wealth, not upon borderline socialism. The power to keep America’s economy strong is in the hands of the citizens, and should not be given up for a raise in minimum wage. If our federal minimum wages are in fact increased to what Obama wants the to be, (10.10$/hr.) then we as a country will experience inflation, stagnant increases in unemployment, loss of small business, increase in illegal immigration, and with little to gain. However, if we can push through to not increase the minimum wage, or even abolish it, America will continue to grow on it’s own and improve. The minimum wage is not something to fall back on, it’s something to spring forward from, a stepping stone.

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