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Raising minimum wage effects
Positive impact of rising minimum wage rate
Positive impact of rising minimum wage rate
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The NALS indicated a very strong relationship between low skilled workers and low wages. These statistics show that achieving a moderate to high level of functional literacy is crucial for an individual to escape low wage jobs. Approximately 65% of workers who took the NALS scored at level 3, the middle category, or higher. Of this 65%, only 3.5% of men and 6.5% of women earn low wages or live with a low income family (Lerman). The individuals who score low on the test will most likely never overcome low wage jobs unless they try to acquire more advanced skill sets. Several different options that are available to help low wage workers. The Center on Wisconsin Strategy in Dane County, Wisconsin has previously been successful. For example, …show more content…
this program takes partnerships in industries such as the finance and insurance industry. This strategy will take workers from the industry who work positions such as customer service or clerical jobs and offer these individuals a training course. training course is all online and takes approximately 16 weeks. After the worker has successfully completed the course, the worker will then be certified to move up into a higher position of that industry (Lerman). Restructuring job content has also been successful. Community-Based Organizations does this in hopes of proving to credible firms that restructuring jobs can lead to be an effective strategy for improving worker productivity, which would improve worker skills and lead to an increase in wage opportunity. “Community organizations have worked with the banking industry in San Antonio to restructure teller positions; with garment manufacturers in New York to modernize plants and upgrade the skills of their workers in pattern making and computerized marking, grading, and cutting; with government programs and day care providers in Providence, Rhode Island, and New York to improve the training and working conditions of day care workers…”(Lerman). While many Americans believe that increasing the minimum wage is a potential solution for the people living in poverty, there are many downsides to what they think to be an answer to the national poverty rate issues.
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 …show more content…
this will do to the poverty levels (Stevens). Most of the U.S. workforce constitutes for non-minimum wage paying jobs. Employees earning minimum wage make up less than 10% of the workforce in the United States, which shows how increasing the minimum wage will not serve as an effective solution for reducing poverty in the United States. Although 10% of the workforce is still a large number of people, increasing the minimum wage for just 10% of the workforce could damage the economy. Two of the main issues with an increase in minimum wage are inflation and an increase in unemployment rates. Raising the minimum wage is going to help the already existing inflationary issue grow larger (United States: Minimum Wage Has Little Economic Impact). An increase in the minimum wage will also affect the prices of goods and services provided by these businesses. Purdue University conducted a study on increasing the pay of fast-food employees. An increase in the pay of these workers would lead to higher prices of the restaurant’s products. The prices of the goods from those businesses could raise by about 4.3% (Wihbey). Increasing the minimum wage will also affect people who are not members of low-income family. Many individuals who work for minimum wage jobs are teenagers, young adults, or people with minimal skill sets. These people usually are not considered low income because many of them are still supported by the income of their family, and not their income alone. “Just 19 percent of the $31 billion would accrue to families with earning below the poverty threshold, whereas 29% would accrue to families earning more than three times the poverty threshold” (“The Effects of a Minimum-Wage Increase on Employment and Family Income”). The government needs to take action, besides increasing the minimum wage, to address the issue of poverty in the United States and how it is related to low income jobs.
If the government could provide more programs for individuals to go through to improve their skill sets to a more advanced level, these people would appeal more to the workforce. Although there are already programs to help these people acquire greater skills, there aren’t enough programs available for the number of people who could use the training. However, the already available programs have proven to be very successful. This could help Americans with the potential to overcome poverty, surpass the low wage jobs that they are currently
working. Besides offering programs, there are other answers as well. “To reduce poverty, it would be more efficient to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit or simply initiate cash transfers” (United States: Minimum Wage has Little Economic Impact). The Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC, was created to encourage Americans to work by rewarding them when they succeed. A worker’s EITC grows with every dollar they earn, until they reach the maximum value. By leaving welfare or low-wage jobs, workers will reach the maximum value sooner. In the year of 2013, the Earned Income Tax Credit helped 6.2 million people overcome poverty, 3.2 million of which were children, and reduced the severity of poverty for 21.6 million people, 7.8 million of which were children. The Earned Income Tax Credit believes that it is important to move children out of poverty, which has shown to immediately improve a child’s well-being (“Policy Basics: The Earned Income Tax Credit”). While many Americans believe that increasing the minimum wage will decrease poverty levels in the United States, there are many facts that say otherwise. Increasing the minimum wage will lead to the cutting of jobs and inflation. The best solution for this problem is to take action to help these people living in poverty. By the creation of government programs, the expansion of Earned Income Tax Credit, or the initiation of cash transfers, the United States could see a drastic increase in the rate of poverty in the United States. Poverty is an issue that will not be going away on its own. However, Americans have the potential to put an end to this. The United States needs to help those in poverty, and while increasing the minimum wage is not a solution, there are other solutions out there to help these Americans.
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
Dana Goldstein a journalist from The Nation says that, “47 million American jobs are expected to be created between now and 2018, and about two-thirds will require some sort of education beyond high school.” In making this comment, Goldstein is showing us that the only way to be prosperous in the future is to educate our children. Goldstein goes on to say that, “27 percent of workers with occupational licenses earn more than the average recipient of a bachelor’s degree.” In other words, Goldstein is trying to tell us that a bachelor 's degree isn 't the only way to go and that we need to increase funding for vocational schools and community
According to Shipler, the working poor need remedies to improve their circumstances. Throughout his novel, Shipler addressed potential solutions that seemed to adjust the lives of the working poor. To help combat low self-esteem and competence more programs should be created by the state or local communities that could be created to assist the working poor in getting their GEDs, personal hygiene if necessary, learning skills that are necessary for job training, balancing daily personal finances, and learning how to eat healthier on a limited income. The more confidence an individual has the more likely they will be outgoing or assertive and will be more willing to apply for jobs. Applying jobs is intimidating for a college graduate who has
The educational and skill levels of welfare recipients as a group are lower than that of the general adult population. For example, compared to 27 percent of the general adult population, nearly 50 percent of welfare recipients do not have a high school diploma (NIFL 1994). Also, 30 percent of welfare recipients have basic skills below those of the minimum skill level of all women in the lowest occupational skill areas (Cohen et al. 1994). Thus, to the architects of the FSA, a logical avenue for assisting welfare recipients in achieving economic self-sufficiency was to provide those who needed it adult basic and literacy education services through JOBS. The need for this assistance has subsequently been supported: an estimated two-thirds of JOBS enrollees require basic skills enhancement before they are able to enter the work force (ibid.). The other third are placed in employment more immediately, either in the private secto...
Any number of vocational education programs have been targeted to solve the education and employment problems of the nations high-risk populations--the dropout prone, persons with disabilities, educationally and economically disadvantaged persons, and so forth. Some have realized successful outcomes; others have not. This publication examines vocational educations role in the success of high-risk populations.
Most immigrants are not admitted to high paying jobs because they do not possess the education or skill level that are in demand in the labor force. Nearly 31 percent of foreign-born residents over the age of 25 are without a high school diploma, compared to just 10 percent of native-born citizens (Report by Greenhaven Press). This is considered an understatement because with the struggling economy in the United States and unemployment rates at a high, a bachelors or masters degree is a
Articles and interviews inform the public that “raising the minimum wage will help the lower class” (Neumark). People that currently earn minimum wage want to increase the minimum wage level because it has been raised in the past; “the states have raised the minimum wage level 91 times since 1987”(Cap). Some lower level workers are also relying on food stamps to feed their families. The media says that raising minimum wage will increase job opportunities because people will be more willing to spend money if they earn more per hour. The protesters say that they cannot support their families with only minimum wage amount. They need more money to keep their family off the streets. Raising the minimum wage is not a bad thing to do, but raising it to $15.00 would have a dramatic effect on our economy where as “raising the minimum wage amount to around $10.00 would then have a less dramatic effect on the economy”
For many people in the United States, life is no more than a regular work cycle. Members of working class usually have a High School diploma and may work in a low skilled occupation or manual labor. Most of the enjoying age of this people is spent in working, as they don’t want their new once to have a life they struggling through. Therefore, this essay will argue that minimum wage should be increased federally to $15/hour by 2017. Firstly, if taxes touches the sky, why should the minimum wage be on the ground? Increasing minimum wages would also create new opportunities for education as the students wouldn’t have to work crazy hours. Likewise, many couples won’t have to work multiple jobs in order to manage the household. Lastly, it will lift
72.9 million Americans aged 16 and above were working hourly wages in the year 2010. The United States as the leader of the modern age should take action to increase the wealth of the minimum wage worker. The United States, is one of the economic superpowers of the world, and yet 58.8% of the workers in the United States are paid hourly.
Carnevale, (2010), stated that “at least sixty three percent of Americans more than forty six jobs will required some college education.” This analysis stated that if the current education to employment system remains unchanged by 2018 the United States will fall short by three million post-secondary degree. Of the twenty two million college degree in the workforce. In addition American workforce will need 4.7 million new postsecondary career certificates. The diversity issues can include the gender, sexual orientation, age, ethnicity, lack of skills, lack of proper education, and disability. Understanding that the more adult the person is, the harder will be to find a job position that could match their experience or education level if they had one. Providing them with new skills hands on at their comprehend level it might facilitate their possibilities of a new career. Likewise, it will be individual’s that might retire soon due to their advance
There are numerous people in society who lack certain skills that they need for survival.
Most people can find a job in their field, but the amount of people who can not find a job in their field is increasing. “Unequal outcomes from college have always been a fact of life, but there is evidence that the dispersion of outcomes has increased” (Haltom). If a person ha a lower income job, it is not always because they did not have a college education. “1 percent of taxi drivers and roughly 3 percent of bank tellers had a college degree” (Haltom). This shows that even though some people have a college education, they could not find jobs in their field and had to take jobs that they less likely wanted. Haltom also says, “as many as 120,000 of the nations 1.7 million 2012 graduates who wanted to work elsewhere took jobs as waiters, salespeople, cashiers, and the like” (Haltom). More and more people with a college education can not find jobs in their field.
Several individuals are forced to work at a fast food restaurant since a majority decent paying jobs will not accept employees who do not possess a four-year college education in the required field. The feeling of being rejected an occupation that an individual would prefer would be devastating. It’s extremely difficult to attend school if an individual doesn’t have the required resources needed to attend a two or four-year college or university. Therefore, people settle or resort to the only company that is willing to hire them since they don’t have the required qualifications needed for a better-paying company. Unfortunately, for those individuals that usually means they will be working at a fast food restaurant, a local gas station, or a department/convenient store.
For the past three decades minimum wage has been seen to rise several times. Only helping some but more than anything harming most. So who are the ones feeling the effects? Certainly not the wealthy, it never is them, mainly it would be the working poor, unskilled and teenagers. Raising minimum wage would cripple the public even more than what it would actually help.
While having the right skills for employment is imperative to obtaining a decent job. Displaying your job skills in America’s competitive job market can be challenging. One stigma can be perceived that long-term jobless people have been sitting around and not really wanting to work. (Daly, Hobijn, and Kwok 2015) Or the perception that they would not take a lower paying job, and if they do, they will leave as soon as they find a higher paying one. Some companies have clearly barred the underemployed or long-term unemployed from certa...