Written Assignment unit 2
In economic studies the minimum wage is an example of a price floor. A price floor is the absolute minimum price at which a good or service can be sold.
The market equilibrium price is where the supply of a good or service meets the demand for it in the marketplace. The minimum wage price floor is enacted so that the suppliers (current or potential employees in this case) will not sell their labor below the designated price even if the demanders (employers) are willing to hire them for less.
In economic theory, a price floor creates a surplus in the market place because there is more supply than demand at the set price. This theory applies to the market for labor as well. However, this supply and demand model may
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· 60% of small-business owners say that raising the minimum wage will “hurt most small-business owners,” according to a 2013 Gallup poll.
Raising the minimum wage would increase the price of consumer goods.
· A 2013 article by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago stated that if the minimum wage is increased, fast-food restaurants would pass on almost 100% of their increased labor costs on to consumers and that other firms may do the same.
Teenagers and young adults may be shut out of the workforce if the minimum wage is increased. Minimum wage workers are disproportionately young.
· According to the Pew Research Center, persons in the 16- to 24-year-group make up 50.4% of minimum wage earners, despite representing only 13.7% of the workforce as a whole.
Raising the minimum wage would disadvantage low-skilled workers.
· From an employer’s perspective, people with the lowest skill levels cannot justify higher wages.
Increasing the minimum wage reduces the likelihood of upward
Well, raising the minimum wage has both the pros and cons. Still, the fact that increasing the minimum wage nationwide would increase millions of workers’ earnings is deniable. I suppose that’s why some people advocate raising the minimum wage will grow the economy for everyone. In 2014, the president of the United States, Obama, called on the current Congress to raise the national minimum wage, which proves that Obama actually supports raising the minimum wage. ‘February 2014 Congressional Budget Office Report The Effects of a Minimum-Wage Increase on Employment and Family Income is the latest attempt to do so, in this response to Members of Congress with respect to an increase in the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour.’
One way raising minimum wage will be beneficial is that it could lift many Americans out of poverty. Raising the minimum wage in Illinois, would help the families of more than 1.1 million workers who work to meet their children’s basic needs and “reduce the adverse effects of poverty on a child’s well-being” (Fiscal Policy Center). Studies have shown that raising the minimum wage would help 1 in 5 Illinois families who are in poverty. By raising the minimum wage in Illinois, it would help workers with families spend money on food, housing, gas, and other needs without going into poverty. Along with puling Americans out of poverty, raising the minimum wage could also stimulate economic growth. Raising the minimum wage, is stimulating economic growth by worsening the income inequality and substantially reducing the employee turnover for the business. Increasing a person’s income would raise their yearly earnings by $3,640 and “Improve the economic security and reduce the economies poverty rate” (Fiscal Policy Center). Low-wage workers spend most of what they earn on their basic needs, which is quickly spent and does not leave the worker with much money left to spend on other needs. This boost in the minimum wage will stimulate the economy and help create opportunities for more people, by hiring more workers to keep up with the
Minimum wage workers are enthusiastic about Obama’s plan, but small businesses and the unemployed are not so happy about it. This proposal however is a binding price floor, which is a price minimum, in this case, established by the government. This will incentivize more people to search for work while disencouraging firms to hire new workers or even maintain their current ones. This is an example of a surplus. A surplus is “A situation in which quantity supplied is greater than quantity demanded” (Mankiw 7-1c). In this case, quanti...
Minimum wage was originally established to reduce poverty. It was also made up to do away with sweat shops and companies not paying minors and others a fair wage for Some policymakers may believe that companies simply absorb the costs of minimum wage through reduced profits, but that’s rarely the case. Instead, businesses rationally respond to such mandates by cutting employment and making other decisions to maintain their net earnings. These behavioral responses usually offset the positive labor market results that policymakers are hoping for.”
Many people can think back and remember what it was like to put in an application for that first job and be presented with a position. Taking that position represents adulthood and is a very exciting time for a young person. All first jobs usually start with a minimum wage. Minimum wage is the minimum an employer has to pay an unskilled worker based on the regulations set forth by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that was originally established in 1938. As people think back about their first jobs they can also remember what the minimum wage was when they took that position. Minimum wage is only increased based on the cost of living from the prior year. If the previous year shows an increase then the minimum wage will increase in the coming new year. Sinegal (2009) stated "The increase in the minimum wage is long overdue. Paying your employees well is not only the right thing to do but it makes for good business". Based on the cost of living we show for the year of 2009 minimum wage will not increase for 2010. Minimum wage is currently at $7.25 per hour. Most people who start at this rate are young people who are in high school or college and are working a few hours to help pay for school. After they graduate they can apply for better jobs and move on. People who live in areas without growth, single mothers trying to raise their children, and uneducated people are working more than one minimum wage job to make enough money to pay their financial obligations. While the cost of living did not increase, minimum wage is low because no increase is planned for 2010 a...
Another government-imposed price is the floor price. The floor price is the opposite of the ceiling price. Floor prices are usually set above the EP and benefit the producers. An example of this is shown in the agriculture industry. Since farming is so competitive, prices between farmers are always being lowered. These lowered prices result in many farmers going broke, because they can’t afford to stay in business. By using floor prices, the farmers will have to charge an amount by which they can profit and not have to worry that their competitor has a lower price.
The definition of Minimum Wage is “an amount of money that is the least amount of money per hour that workers must be paid according to the law” (Minimum wage). Minimum wage, like other laws, are used to keep the economy in line. Minimum wage laws were invented in Australia and New Zealand with the purpose of guaranteeing a minimum standard of living for unskilled workers. (Linda Gorman) Minimum wage puts a price on the services one offers. Many different principles can be used to explain Minimum wage and explore the different aspects of it. Including what minimum wage does for our economy and the current status of it.
Raising the minimum will end up hurting Americans more than helping them. The people that are for raising minimum wage are people who believe that increasing minimum wage can help those people who are unskilled and need an income they can live on. Yet, raising minimum wage would do the opposite and make employers have to fire people who earn minimum wage, because they can't afford the higher wages. People need to realize that increasing the minimum wage would hurt people more than help them. In the end increasing minimum wage would result in some people being let go, for the reason, businesses can't afford paying them minimum wage anymore.
Since the cost of living has gone up drastically, raising the minimum wage is the right thing to do to boost the economy, lift workers morale and productivity, and improve the self sufficiency of potentially millions of American workers. Raising the minimum wage is a vital step in decreasing poverty and giving every family the opportunity to survive and succeed. Even businesses agree raising the minimum wage would give many customers more money to spend in turn increasing sales and higher profits for the companies. Therefore, raising the minimum wage would help and not hurt the economy and it would give many Americans a better livelihood and a more secured life. In today’s society it is very expensive to live in American and even getting by daily is difficult if you are living on minimum wage. Therefore, anyone who thinks the minimum wage should not be raised should try living in
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
Minimum wage is the lowest hourly pay employers are legally able to pay their workers. In United States there is huge debate on whether or not to raise the current minimum wage rates from seven dollars and twenty five cents per hour. States are leading push to increase the minimum wage by Democrats who appeal to working class Americans. Congress want to increase minimum wages above seven dollars and twenty five cents. The issues of whether to raise the minimum wage or not.
Raising the minimum wage will prove to be detrimental as it will take away opportunities for high school students to gain insight and explore different career options. Additionally, it will also reduce the unemployment rate, making it harder for the working poor to meet their basic needs in order to survive. Thereby, raising the minimum wage is not a feasible option because it will only deteriorate situations for the labor force.
Businesses would have to raise the price of consumer goods to compensate for the higher cost of employees. Businesses could potentially lose customers that have been put out of a job and are unable to afford the company’s services. Raising the minimum wage would have a domino effect on the economy, leading from one negative thing to the next. Works Cited http://www.dol.gov/whd/minimumwage.htm http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/13/us/politics/obama-pushes-for-increase-in-federal-minimum-wage.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 http://www.salary.com/increasing-the-minimum-wage-pros-cons/
“Price ceilings prevent a price from rising above a certain level. When a price ceiling is set below the equilibrium price, quantity demanded will exceed quantity supplied, and excess demand or shortages will result. Price floors prevent a price from falling below a certain level. When a price floor is set above the equilibrium price, quantity supplied will exceed quantity demanded, and excess supply or surpluses will result. Price floors and price ceilings often lead to unintended consequences.”
The fact that the free market does not have any limitation in the minimum wage and the limit to set prices employee at times may suffer loss because there do not have any contract to show the payment there are to receive at a time, the highest wage ever according to the sales they make (Hood, 2015). 2) $16 Dollar minimum wage set for all jobs: • The Minimum Wage in the United States: This wage is a network of federal, state and local laws where employers in general must pay workers with the highest minimum wage prescribed by this network now there are many states with a higher minimum wage than the federal minimum. It is a policy that applies to various companies globally in that it is there to avoid harassment of employees by an employer regarding pay (Hood, 2015).