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Economic effects of raising the minimum wage
Economic effects of raising the minimum wage
Economic effects of raising the minimum wage
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There are opportunities to better the economy of America. Raising the minimum wage is one of those opportunities. Raising the minimum wage can have a positive effect on the country. The minimum wage is not where it ought to be. The minimum wage was higher in the 50’s and 60’s in today’s dollars than it is now. With an increase in minimum wage, people will make more money when working low income part-time or full-time jobs; giving workers more financial stability. The paychecks and yearly salaries of the average low income American family would began to rise. It is an advancement in a conclusively good direction, but it will take time and progressive steps towards a better minimum wage that meets the cost of the necessary standard of living. …show more content…
In 1956, the minimum wage was worth $7.93 in today’s current currency ( Sklar,Holly), and in the 1980’s it was worth $8 compared to $7.25 wich is the current minimum wage (“Minimum Wage Mythbusters.”). According to the Economic Policy Institute, about 30% of families have annual incomes less than the standard income for all lively necessities (Sklar, Holly). It is no wonder that poverty, unemployment, and low income have become such a problem. How can the nation be strong economically with 1950s working wages? It is a shame that our current minimum wage is worth less than it was in 1968- which had a purchasing power of $9.92 when you calculate for inflation- the same year Martin Luther king was assassinated in memphis; a time in which he was fighting for living wages of sanitation workers (Sklar, Holly). We live in the twenty first century; we should not be going backwards, nor be bound to the twentieth century’s wages. The minimum wage doesn’t keep up with inflation, because the cost of living is continually growing; which makes the value of the minimum wage fall behind (“Minimum Wage Mythbusters.”) Raising the national wage is a step towards going forward in order to accommodate the growing cost of living, while pushing many out of
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 was, as it should be, a living wage, for working men and women ... who are attempting to provide for their families, feed and clothe their children, heat their homes, [and] pay their mortgages. The cost-of-living inflation adjustment since 1981 would put the minimum wage at $4.79 today, instead of the $4.25 it will reach on April 1, 1991. That is a measure of how far we have failed the test of fairness to the working poor.” (Burkhauser 1)
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.’
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,
Poverty continues to grow in America. The average minimum wage in the United States is $7.35 an hour- far too low in today’s society. Key expenses, for example, gas and housing prices, have gone up significantly since the minimum wage was last changed in 2007 (Wagner 52). The laws creating the minimum wage were intended to improve the standard of living and decrease poverty. Raising minimum wage is a vital step in decreasing poverty and giving every family the opportunity to survive and succeed. Millions of hard-working Americans are below the poverty line and need an increase in pay. Minimum wage must be raised because it will diminish poverty and assist the working class to support their families.
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.
A federal minimum wage was first set in 1938. The first minimum wage was just 25 cents an hour in 1938. Can you imagine surviving off of 25 cents an hour? Now just over 70 years later the federal minimum wage is now 7.25. The question at hand is the federal minimum wage enough to meet the minimum requirement for a good, happy and healthy life? Some states and cities say no. While a select few states and cities have mirrored the federal minimum wage of 7.25, some states have placed their state or city/county minimum wage marginally higher than the federal minimum wage. So why would some states prefer to have a higher level than required by the federal minimum wage when some state have decided to match or even go below the federal minimum wage level. The answer to this question lies within each state city and county and how they perceive the cost of living in the presiding area. Minimum wage needs a makeover in America despite some of the negative effects that may come along with it. This paper will explore the reasons behind federal and state minimum wages and why some of them differ among states counties and cities across America.
The minimum wage today has a lot of issues; some people say it is not enough to live comfortably. Many agree that there needs to be an increase in minimum wages and by doing that it can help with our issues of poverty. Statistics show that a worker who is full time and earning minimum wage makes only $15,080 a year, which is under the federal poverty line for a family of two. (Gitis, 2013) The problem with that is $15,080 is not a sufficient amount that a person can live and grow on. “A family of two can consist of a mother and son or daughter, father and son or ...
On Saturday, June 25, 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed 121 bills. Among these bills was a landmark law in the United States’ social and economic development—Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) or otherwise known as the Wages and Hours Bill. This new law created a maximum forty-four hour workweek, guaranteed “time-and-a-half” for overtime hours in certain jobs, banned oppressive child labor, and established the nation’s first minimum wage. By definition, a minimum wage is the lowest wage permitted by law or by a special agreement (such as one with a labor union). Throughout the years, the minimum wage has been a central debate topic for the socioeconomic world and now in 2014, the debate has broken through the surface once more. In order to make a choice of whether the wage should be increased or decreased, the history of the wage is needed to make an informed decision.
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
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.
On the other side of the argument Americans believe that with the increase of minimum wages it would help Americans out a lot more. One possible way that the increase in minimum wage may help an individual out is in the article Minimum wage Pros and Cons, “The Economic Policy Institute stated that a minimum wage increase from the current rate of $7.25 an hour to $10.10 would inject $22.1 billion net into the economy and create about 85,000 new jobs over a three-year phase-in period. Though this may be true, one problem
The minimum wage was first implemented as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. (Patton, 2014) The effects of raising the federal minimum wage are highly debated by politicians and economists. This issue, along with unemployment, is one that is talked about frequently and often times in conjunction with political elections. President Obama, along with many other politicians believe and advocate that raising the federal minimum wage will be beneficial to the working class and the economy, but is it enough to justify the negative impacts that come along with it?
About “75.3 million people ages sixteen and over worked for hourly wages in 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics” (“Minimum Wage”). Meaning almost a quarter of the workforce in this nation are working a minimum wage job. Numerous people believe that these workers are not able to make ends meet, and increasing the minimum wage will help these individuals substantially. Even though people believe that increasing the minimum wage will benefit the society, they tend to overlook the drawbacks of increasing the minimum wage, and how it will prove to be detrimental to the society. People believe that increasing the minimum wage will reduce poverty and improve the living standards of the individuals.
Minimum wage has been a topic that has divided our nation for a while now. Some say there should be an increase in the minimum wage while others say the should not be. In my Argument today, I will be in support for the raising of the minimum wage. If the minimum wage is to be increased, it will provide low-income family with money to spend. Furthermore, the more people spend, the better the economy so raising the minimum wage will boost our economy. And finally, raising the minimum wage will reduce the gab between the rich and the poor, which is also an issue in our nation.