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Positive effects of increasing the minimum wage
Positive effects of increasing the minimum wage
Positive effects of increasing the minimum wage
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The minimum wage is the price floor rate that prevents the employer from paying its worker below this rate. When the price floor rate is set above the equilibrium price, the quantity supplied will exceed the quantity demanded. And when a higher minimum wage enacted, the price floor is then further away from the equilibrium price, as a result the quantity supplied will continue to exceed the quantity demanded thus causing a higher unemployment rate.
Therefore, both sides of the economists continue to argue and share their perspectives. The demand-side economists believe that the higher minimum wages will reduce the poverty level and decreases underemployment levels, while supply-side economists argue a higher minimum wage will increase the unemployment rate for young and unskilled workers (Richason, n.d).
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The research concluded the minimum wage does not lift families out of poverty (Richason, n.d).
Most minimum-wage employers are small businesses. Their profit margins are marginal and unable to absorb a higher minimum wage. As a result, these businesses will pass the costs onto their customers by raising the prices. Eventually, it’s the consumers that have to bear the burdens and not the business owners. The poor and middle class spend more on goods produced by minimum-wage workers than the wealthy do. Consequently, the impact of higher minimum wages impact the lower income more than the government had intended (Sherk,
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.
Understanding the basic concept of minimum wage is important for every single individual. We all live in this world together and it is obvious that there is an order. In order to continue our lives and afford our basic needs, we all need to work and gain wealth. As the old adage says ‘‘There ain’t a such a thing as a free lunch.’’ We need to give up on something that we like to get something else that we like. That’s why, every single individual in the society face trade-offs. However, people have different status. Some people work as employees and some work as employers. In that case of minimum wage the trade off is between employees and employers. Employees work for employers in order to gain money and afford their minimal living expenses whereas employers give up on their money and pay for employees because employers take care of their need of labor. Employers pay for their workers who we call employees and employees gain hourly money. The calculated minimum money that they gain in an hour base called minimum wages. Besides, there is this cycle that everyone actually works
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
The minimum wage has been a policy tool used in the United States since its establishment with the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938. It has been uses as a tool to remedy some of the effects of poverty by raising the wages of the low wage workers. It has long been the worthy goal of many policy makers to find solutions to alleviate pove...
In 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed and ever since, the United States has required that all firms that do at least $500,000 worth of business per year pay their workers a minimum wage (“Handy” n.pag.). Because it affects so many workers in so many different aspects of the economy, the minimum wage plays a big part in the cost of labor and how firms deal with those costs. A change in the minimum wage, which would seemingly affect only workers, can actually be felt sometimes all the way down to the consumer, who might end up paying for it in the end—unless the firm finds another way to pay for the mandatory raise for all its workers, such as a decrease in its workforce or a change in the production process. These changes the consumer might not noticeably feel. A change in the minimum wage has several short-term and long-term effects on the economy that can be either beneficial or devastating to society at large.
Minimum wage is a difficult number to decide on because it affects different income earning citizens in different ways. According to Principles of Microeconomics, by N. Gregory Mankiw, minimum wage is a law that establishes the lowest price for labor that and employer may pay (Mankiw 6-1b). Currently, the minimum wage in the United States is $7.25 per hour. For many years politicians and citizens have argued on what should be the minimum wage that would benefit the economy and society in general. A minimum wage was first established in 1938 to increase the standard of living of lower class workers. To discuss what is better for the country and its citizens, people have to understand what is a minimum wage and what are its effects.
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...
"Raising the minimum wage will benefit about 28 million workers across the country. And it will help businesses, too - raising the wage will put more money in people's pockets, which they will pump back into the economy by spending it on goods and services in their communities." -- President Obama
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 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.
Minimum wage was created as a price floor to protect workers from employers that wanted to provide them with low paying jobs. Cooper explains that “during periods of high unemployment many workers are forced to take lower paying jobs.... because there simply are no other options available to them.” Workers do not have any power during periods of unemployment. Employers can easily abuse their power and they will. Businesses try to make the most amount of money possible, meaning they will pay their workers little to nothing to increase their profit. Thus, the idea of Minimum wage contradicts itself because it is the reason for the high unemployment rate in America. Consequently, forcing workers to take low paying jobs because the supply of jobs is so
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
... it. Another example imagine three competing coffee shops. All three need to make a certain profit margin to stay in business and make their effort worthwhile. Then they all three coffee shops will lower their prices as much as possible while still covering that necessary profit margin. If one of the shop tries to charge more, customers will simply go to the competitor shops. Wages are prices of labor, so the minimum wage is a price control. Like any price control, it has a ripple effect prices of other services and goods have to compensate. When an employer's labor costs go up, he has to lay off workers and/or increase the prices of what he sells.
Many critics claim that that raising minimum wage increases unemployment, especially for unskilled workers, and harms small businesses, including grocery stores and restaurants. The argument declares that companies such as these rely mostly on unskilled workers for labor, and if the minimum wage increases, then their profits and, therefore, hiring would decline, creating a...
However, there are those who see it completely the opposite way. Stating that by raising the minimum wage the economy would be better. More people would be able to support themselves; therefore lowering the percentage of poor people and raising the middle-class numbers. It is also argued that this change would not increase the number of unemployment, instead it could potentially raise employment by creating more jobs. Holly Sklar states in her research article, “Research by Fiscal Policy Institute and others showed that states that raised their minimum wages above the federal level experienced better employment and small business trends than states that did not.”