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Economic effects of raising the minimum wage
How would raising the minimum wage in the us effect the economy
How would raising the minimum wage in the us effect the economy
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Some think that the minimum wage should not be raised, but others think that the minimum wage should be raised. If one had to be chosen, raising the minimum wage would be better. The minimum wage should be raised because if you were to work full time on minimum wage, you are below the poverty line; Also states that did raise the minimum wage above the federal standard have had more job growth than states that did not. Finally, "Minimum wage workers are much more likely to immediately go out and spend that extra money in the economy," says Heidi Shierholz of the Economic Policy Institute, which favors raising the minimum. "That's because they're often living paycheck to paycheck."
One reason that the government should raise the minimum wage is that people working full time make less than the federal poverty level; Which is $19,790 (for a family of 3). If a person were to work full time at a company that pays minimum wage you would make $15,080 a year.
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So if you were to work full time and have a family of three, you would be living in poverty. But if the minimum wage is ten dollars and ten cents you would make around $20,000 per year. Which is important because nobody wants to live in poverty, so if the minimum wage was increased, we could make a lot of families not live in poverty. A second reason to raise the minimum wage is that states that have raised the minimum wage above the government standard have seen a lot more growth in companies than states that did not. In Washington, oregon and many other states, the trends are growing more popular. This is important because in America we all want to see growth in our communities and cities. Raising the minimum wage could spark and start the fire of growth. "Minimum wage workers are much more likely to immediately go out and spend that extra money in the economy," says Heidi Shierholz of the Economic Policy Institute, which favors raising the minimum wage. "That's because they're often living paycheck to paycheck." As you see a trusted member of the Economic Policy Institute has stated raising the minimum wage would stimulate the economy which could even help us out of the economic struggles that started in 2008. This further supports the claim. By helping our economy you are not only helping yourself, you are helping your community and those around you. The issue of raising the minimum wage is a complex one.
There are indeed risks of raising the minimum wage, but the rewards outweigh those risks, so the minimum wage should be raised. Some people who are against this may say ...“But other economists say raising the minimum wage actually hurts the very people it's designed to help: One of the basic laws of economics is that if you raise the price of something, there will be less demand for it. In this case, if you raise the price of workers, the demand for workers will decline. That could mean companies cutting the hours of employees, laying them off, or hiring fewer workers in the future.”... Yes, it could hurt the people it is designed to help, but different states have done this and found the opposite to be true. With America’s still fragile economy we need a boost, a helping hand; And this could be it. So next time you go down to vote on a mayor or maybe even the next president, remember that raising the minimum wage is a good thing, and you should be supporting
it.
Imagine a world where you are working overtime, seven days a week, yet your kids are starving. You can’t get the education you need because you don’t have the time and money to afford it, and you can’t change jobs because this is the only one you can get. Unfortunately, this is the reality for millions of Americans living today. The federal minimum wage is too low to help families, and actually mathematically speaking, too low to survive on. The quality of life for minimum wage families is terribly low, and that is unacceptable. As humans, we should be looking after others and helping the poverty come out of their continuous cycle. Raising the minimum wage would not only help families be able to afford a better quality of life, but help them to afford healthy food, get an adequate education, and invest in the necessary health care they need.
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.’
Minimum wage is a topic that has been popping up since the 1980s. From whether we should lower it, or even raise it, but now in the 2000s minimum wage has been the center of attention more than ever. There are two sides to this topic of minimum wage; whether it creates more jobs or does not create jobs. Those who argue that raising minimum wage will create more jobs will have a rebuttal which is that it does not only cause the loss of jobs but that it would make things much worse and vice versa for those arguing raising minimum wage will cause loss of jobs. There will be two authors representing opposite views, Nicholas Johnson supporting minimum wage will not cost jobs with his article “ Evidence Shows Raising Minimum Wage Hasn’t Cost Jobs”
In the article, “Let’s Make the Minimum Wage a Living Wage” by Ira Knight, he argues how the economy would benefit from a minimum wage increase and he uses a lot of studies to back up his claims. Janice Steele, however, argues that raising the minimum wage will hurt small business and job opportunity. She uses fear to influence workers into not increasing minimum wage by making large generalizations. The article “Let’s Make the Minimum Wage a Living Wage” by Ira Knight and the article by Janice Steele “Keep the Minimum Wage Where It Is” both had good points. However, Ira Knight makes a stronger argument.
Another con to raising minimum wage is that the value of even a minimum wage job increases, which means employers will look for a lot more production out of employees. Right now, the U.S> mandated minimum wage is at $7.25. Even the most unskilled worker can get a job at a McDonalds or Burger King or other restaurants. However, with an increase in minimum wage, as I said earlier about quality over quantity, employers will look for better quality workers and have much higher standards as to who they bring in to the company. A minimum wage increase to $10.10, which is the current proposal nationwide, would see the value of a job, even a fry cook, increase and that is trouble for unskilled
The government sets minimum wage at what they think an average person needs to live a healthy life, but is minimum wage isn't really enough to support a person. Minimum wage does not change with inflation, and prices have gone up since the last time minimum wage was changed on July 5, 2009. People get paid minimum wage, which is what the government says should be enough to cover the costs of living for a person, but for those living on minimum wage, hunger and malnutrition are a big problem, even with government and public assistance like SNAP (The Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program) and housing assistance programs.
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.
Minimum wage should be increased because millions of Americans will be saved from a life of poverty. With inflation increasing every year, it is necessary to raise the minimum wage to keep up the living cost.
I feel that minimum wage should be higher because for anyone to make a decent living they have to make the money. However, if the minimum wage was higher some individuals could make a better living for their families instead of living in poverty. My take is minimum wage has a big effect on the world today and if things don’t change the world will never change. People will continue to be on welfare because they can’t afford to feed their families making minimum wage.
A higher minimum wage would benefit families of the working class who need the extra money in order to survive. Not only are higher wages needed but companies can afford to give them. With the minimum wage at one of the all time lows, an increase is of the utmost importance considering it would strengthen families and the economy.
The minimum wage must be raised because the cost of living has gone up considerably. Education is essential if one wishes to work, and the cost of education has increased drastically in the past twenty years. Companies should be requied to pay workers what they deserve, and that is more than minimum wage is now. With our new technology and the technology in the future work is harder and more complicated. A minimum wage increase would raise the wages of many workers and increase benefits to those disadvantaged workers.
Raising the minimum is a horrible idea because everything will go up in price. If the wage goes up we're going to see an increase of price in stores, food ,and gas. Not only that but small businesses will perish because they don't have enough money to pay all the workers. Many people that work in small businesses will be unemployed and will have to struggle to find a job. We all have to be equal with the minimum wage or else many people may end up losing their
Minimum wage has been an ethical and economical dilemma for decades and has many sceptics weather it is beneficial or not. Many people have debated weather raising minimum wage would have positive, negative, or no effect at all. There has been claims of all effects from more employment to unemployment and if it would affect the prices of our goods and services. There has been prediction that if the minimum wage is increased it would cause people to lose jobs because the amount of profit would decrease so they would have to disemploye people to meet the business profit. Or if minimum wage is increased the goods and services would have to increase as well to meet the demand of pay for the employees, in turn the higher positions would also have to increase pay to keep the difference of each level of leadership the same. On the other hand people have said it would benefit the economy by increasing minimum wage.
The profound idea of increasing the minimum wage on a federal scale is a commendable cause, however the very concept is flawed. The Federal government employed minimum wage laws for the very purpose of “preventing businesses from hiring workers for hourly wages that fall below a specified level” (Gale Minimum). Yes, this will achieve just that, although it would implement significantly more complications than actual improvements. Rather than improve things for those below the poverty line, increasing the minimum wage would only push them further down. The reason for this is “because of its adverse effects on employment and poor ability to target workers living in households below the poverty threshold” (Edwards Negative). Increasing the
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.”