Minimum Wage Benefits

Minimum wage is, without a doubt, one of the most debated things in history. The debates around it have escalated even more with all the recent changes in the actual value of minimum wage. According to Clinton Alexander, “Since being first enacted in 1928, the idea of a ‘minimum wage’ has been sold as a law that will benefit the poorest sectors of our society.” However, some people actually consider if it does what it is intended to do. Some people say that we need to look at how minimum wage affects employers, employees, and the cost of goods, as well as what actually determines the value. We also need to look at how minimum wage has changed over the years.
With all of the debates with the new coming change in the value of minimum wage,

we really need to know who/what actually affect the value of minimum wage. In the article, “The Effects of Minimum Wage on Workers,” the author states, “The federal government suggests the minimum wage rate, but individual state governments set the minimum wage for workers in their states” (Root 3). This essentially means that although the federal government has a part in the changes of minimum wage, they are not entirely to blame for the changes. We also see that that the the state government has a role in determining the value as well. Another group that sets minimum wage is the Department of Labor (U.S. Department of Labor Staff). According the U.S. Department of Labor Staff, “The Department of Labor enforces the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which sets basic minimum wage and overtime pay standards. These standards are enforced by the Department's Wage and Hour Division.” Although they are part of the government, we now see that there are two specific divisions devoted to minimum wage.
However, some of the factors that affect minimum wage are not people. One of them is the cost of living in your area. Depending on what state you live in, the actually purchasing value of your wage could increase or lower. According to Niraj Chokshi, “...They are only as valuable as what they can buy, which also varies by geography, according to an analysis of purchasing power by state.” In this quote, he is saying that the actual value of minimum wage is greatly affected by where you live. For example, in the article, “Map: How Geography Affects the Value of the Minimum Wage," the author writes, “New York ranks among the top 10 states for its minimum wage, but factor in the cost of living, and it falls to the bottom 10. West Virginia’s middle-of-the-pack minimum wage, on the other hand, is actually fairly valuable compared with other states, when considering prices” (Chokshi). This proves that the actual value of your minimum depends on not only the number on a paper, but how you can apply it in the place you live. So while some states have a really low minimum wage, it could be that the cost of living there is also low, making it able for the employees to live off the wage some see as low.
There is one other way that minimum wage can change. That is when the workers rebel at their jobs, forming groups and riots. For example, in the article, "MINIMUM WAGE INCREASES COULD HIKE COMP COSTS; Employers with hourly workers face uncertainty,” the author writes that, “Fight for $15 protests have been held recently in cities such as Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Pittsburgh and St. Louis.” This quote basically shows that there are protests over minimum wage. This, I feel, is one of the most effective ways to change, or at least spark change, in minimum wage. You can hear all over the news of stories of protests at fast food restaurants and other jobs. When employees rebel, it shows the employers that they want a change.
Another thing we need to look at when judging minimum wage is how it has changed over the past few years. Minimum wage was first enacted in 1928, and was designed to help the poorest of the society (Alexander). The value of minimum wage has actually raised and lowered throughout the years, with a change quite recently.
The first major change we see to minimum wage occurred in 1949 when minimum wage was raised from a mere 40 cents to 75, while also expanding to workers in air transport (U.S. Department of Labor Staff). Another change occurred in 1955, which raised minimum wage to $1 (U.S. Department of Labor Staff). We see there that about 25 years after minimum wage was set does it hit the one dollar mark. Another big change was when the minimum wage was raised to $2 in 1974 (U.S. Department of Labor Staff).
However, some of the changes to minimum wage have actually been quite recent. For example, in the article, “"U.S. Department of Labor - Wage and Hour Division (WHD) - Minimum Wage,” the author states, “The 2007 amendments increased the minimum wage to $5.85 per hour effective July 24, 2007; $6.55 per hour effective July 24, 2008; and $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009” (U.S. Department of Labor Staff). In the quote we see that the raise took place over a period of time, something that has happened before.
The most recent change in minimum wage occurred 2015. The article, "Seattle's coming $15 minimum wage,” states, “Pushed forward primarily by socialist city councilwoman Kshama Sawant, the first phase of a new minimum wage law went into effect on April 1, 2015, and the law will eventually bring all businesses to a $15 minimum wage, more than double the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour” (Alexander). This shows that the minimum wage is actually doubling from its original value. However, this wasn’t the only change in 2015. The article also states that, “On April 1, 2015, small-business wages were set at $11 an hour as well,” (Alexander). Here we see that the smaller businesses, like family-run businesses, have a lower pay than the bigger companies.
Seattle isn’t the only place that has seen change in their value of minimum wage. According to the article, "Effects of Raising the Minimum Wage: Research and Key Lessons - Journalist's Resource,” Andrew Cuomo, New York’s governor, announced a plan in July of 2015 to raise the minimum wage of fast-food chains to $15 (Wihbey). Actually, $15 minimum wages are becoming quite common, so $15 isn’t an unusual. However, some states are still paying a wage lower than $15. For example, the governor of Rhode Island raised the state’s wage from $9 to $9.60 in June 2015. Here we see that Rhode Island’s minimum wage is quite below the minimum wage of other states, but we also see that they have quite recently raised it. Other place that have raised minimum wage include the University of California, who rose their minimum wage to $15 in 2017 (Wihbey).
The final thing we need to look at when evaluating minimum wage is how it affects the people and things around it, like the employers, employees, and the cost of goods. There is actually a lot of controversy surrounding this. According to the article "Seattle's coming $15 minimum wage,” the author, Clinton Alexander, states, “Operating under the assumption that simply raising the minimum wage will guarantee said wage, the people pushing for the $15 minimum wage claim that it has the power to lift the poor to that ‘new standard of living.’ Is this true? Will it indeed lift the needy in our communities to another level, or is it a false assumption, one that will cause irreparable damage to business and industry?” He is not the only person to question this, as there are actually quite a few people who have wondered the same thing.
The first thing that minimum wage effects are the employers of the companies who have to pay minimum wage. While some businesses are huge companies that have tons of excess money, some businesses are small, family-run businesses that may have a hard time paying even the lowest value of minimum wage. For example, Alexander Clinton, an author, writes, “At Padrino's Pizza and Pasta, Bobby Denovski echoed Salvatore's sentiment: ‘We aren't a large company with huge profits. As a small business the cost of labor is one of the main factors. Fifteen dollars an hour, that's a lot of money to ask from a small business.’” This shows that there may be more strain on small businesses than people may think. In order to absorb the changes in the wage, business have to do a variety of actions. In the article, "Effects of Raising the Minimum Wage: Research and Key Lessons - Journalist's Resource," the author states, “Critics assert that the real effects of minimum-wage increases are negative: they hurt businesses, raise prices and ultimately are counterproductive for the working poor, as they can lead to unemployment,” (Wihbey). What the author is saying here that when business try to adapt to the raises in minimum wage, it has negative effects on the employees, who minimum wage is actually supposed to help. Clinton Alexander, an author, states, “If costs cannot be simply absorbed by the company, another option is to raise the price of the product. Bobby Denovski stated, ‘The only thing I can do is to raise the prices. I worry that the demand for pizza in the community will not support the prices we will have to go to when the wages go up.’” He is not the only person to say this, as some of the other people Alexander talked to reflected his view. However, another way to adapt to minimum wage is to raise the prices of goods. In an article by John Wihbey, he states that in a study by Purdue University in July of 2015, they suggest that raising minimum wage to $15 could raise the prices of fast food restaurants by 4.3%. This all shows that minimum wage can negatively affect small businesses, their employee, and the cost of their goods.
However, some people actually think that minimum wage can help employees.

These people are usually the one who push for raises in minimum wage, saying that raising the wage can help minimum wage employees in the long run. For example, in the article, “Four Consequences of a $15 Minimum Wage,” the author states, that raising minimum wage can actually help children, since higher incomes lead to better mental health and parenting,” (Lee). This shows that by raising the minimum wage a child’s parent receives can actually help a child be treated better. It also shows that when you raise the minimum wage, a child might actually be set up for a better future, since the parents treat them better. Another thing is, some minimum wage workers are actually single parents, and providing for their child alone might be hard. Some studies actually show that raising minimum wage can help these single parents. In "The Effects of Minimum Wage on Workers," the author states, “The study "Who Earns the Minimum Wage" published in 2006 by the Heritage Foundation says that 6.1 percent of those making minimum wage in 2005 were single parents” (Root 3). The author continues, to say this, “The minimum wage gives families the chance at survival even if the parents do not possess marketable skills,” (Root 3). What the author is saying here is that minimum wage provides that chance for single parents to earn a basic living as to be able to care for their children. This shows that children with parents

who receive minimum wage can actually have a better future if it’s raised. However, minimum wage doesn’t only benefit children. According to ProConorg Staff, “A minimum wage increase would help to reduce race and gender inequality.” This means that minorities in today’s society can actually be treated more fairly by raising minimum wage. Minimum wage, and the act of raising it, has still other benefits. In “Declining Value of the Federal Minimum Wage Is a Major Factor Driving Inequality,” the author states, Setting the minimum wage at an appropriate level can help spur broad-based wage growth and move us toward an economy where workers benefit from productivity growth,” (Mishel). Here, the author is saying that in long term perspective, raising the minimum wage could actually help our economy. All of this shows that minimum wage, and raising it, can positively the employees who receive it, as well as the economy.
However, people still argue about the pros and cons of minimum wage.

Some people, in fact, are tied between the two. For example, in the article, "Effects of Raising the Minimum Wage: Research and Key Lessons - Journalist's Resource," the author states, “These scholars have written previously that, in the short run, minimum wage increases both help some families get out of poverty and make it more likely that previously non-poor families may fall into poverty,” (Wihbey). Here, the author proves that minimum wage has both pros and cons when it comes to on how it affects the employers, employees, and the cost of goods.
Minimum wage is an extremely controversial topic in today’s world. After reviewing how minimum wage has changed over the years, what affects it, and how it affects the employers, employees, and the cost of goods, it hope it helps you form your own opinion about

it.