The first minimum wage was put in place by Congress in 1938 as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act. It was set at twenty-five cents. Since then minimum wage has continually fluctuated, and currently, it is $7.25, but Congress is now considering the Fair Minimum Wage Act (Whittner) which would, over the course of two years, raise minimum wage to $10.10 (Sherk). Adding almost three dollars to the United State’s minimum wage will most certainly have a large, positive impact on the nation. Congress should raise minimum wage because it would boost the economy, it would create jobs, and it would not be right to let people who work full time to live in poverty. Increasing minimum wage to $10.10 an hour will boost the economy because if people are earning more money, then they will spend more money (Shemkus). In a study done by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, minimum wage workers who received a wage that included an extra dollar per hour created an average of $2,800 in new consumer spending the next year (Berman and Scheller). That is a significant amount of money from such a tiny change, and if enough people were given just a one dollar raise in salary, then that would mean millions of dollars in new consumer spending, so raising salary $2.85 would mean even more money for the economy. Jobs and the economy are directly related, so if the economy is steadily growing, then the amount of jobs will too. Increasing minimum wage would have a major impact on job availability. In fact, a chart published by the Review of Economics and Statistics shown in the Huffington Post explains that between the years of 1991 and 2006, the rate of job growth has mimicked the increase and decrease of minimum wage. Another study done by the National Emplo... ... middle of paper ... ... work and it is Congress’s moral obligation to raise it to help the millions of people who, despite their hard work, are still in poverty. Works Cited http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/07/obama-minimum-wage_n_4235965.html http://www.salary.com/increasing-the-minimum-wage-pros-cons/ http://nelpaction.wordpress.com/2013/07/24/new-poll-overwhelming-majority-of-americans-view-minimum-wage-increase-as-important-priority-for-congress-over-next-year/ http://www.epi.org/publication/bp357-federal-minimum-wage-increase/ http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2013/08/12/130812ta_talk_surowiecki http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lawrence-wittner/the-minimum-wage-should-b_b_4251211.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/14/minimum-wage-raise-proof_n_4597721.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/14/economists-minimum-wage_n_4594922.html?utm_hp_ref=business
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.
In conclusion, it is impossible to think the economy, minimum wage, and society separately. As you can see above, raising the minimum wage has an impact on the economy in various ways.
This article gives you a yes and no opinion on whether or not the F...
In summary, there is one thing that people need to survive in today’s society: money. Making more legal money means that people are less likely to turn to crime for survival, more people are spending more money, and people are living the way they deserve to. Minimum wage needs to be raised to meet the people’s needs.
Before other states jump on the $15 minimum-wage bandwagon, they might want to look at what's happening in Massachusetts — one of two states with a $10-an-hour minimum wage. Massachusetts increased the minimum wage from $8 to $9 at the start of 2015 and to $10 on the first day of 2016. The state is now mired in its longest stretch of net job losses since the recession, Labor Department data show. Minimum wage is the assured lowest amount of pay per hour that an employee can receive and it’s purpose is to make certain that employers are paying their workers fairly. The first minimum wage was created by Congress in 1938 as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act; it was twenty-five cents an hour. Since then, it has varied over the years, the highest being in 1968, but today it stands at $7.25 (Sherk). At the moment, Congress is contemplating the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, which would, over two years, raise the minimum wage to $10.10 (GovTrack). However, raising the minimum wage is a bad idea because a majority of minimum wage jobs belong to teenagers who will not stay in the job very long and do not need to support a family, raising minimum wage will lessen the availability of jobs for the poor, and it is pointless since many of the impoverished that the raising of the minimum wage is targeted to help, will not be able to benefit.
Although raising the minimum wage won’t eliminate poverty as poverty can never be eliminated. It could help with lowering the poverty rate. The “inactive” unemployed Americans lack motivation, because they can’t support themselves with the money earned. It simply is not enough. As the cost of living rises, minimum wage stays stagnant. This is not balanced at all. If minimum wage back in 1968 was doable, raising it now could not kill the economy. Increasing the minimum wage could be an incentive for workers to finally seek jobs again; prompting growth in the economy and lower down poverty levels in many ways. The quality of a job is just as important when creating quantity of jobs. What lacks in the U.S right now is the incentives to make Americans want to do better. Raising the minimum wage could stimulate the desire to work and get around, possibly pursuing more education to climb the ladder to get higher in the economic
"When we talk about the kind of folks whose lives will be made better by raising the minimum wage, we're not talking about a couple teenagers earning extra spending money to supplement their allowance. We're talking about providers and breadwinners. Working Americans with bills to pay and mouths to feed."
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.
"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
Minimum wage has been around for ages. Minimum wage employment was a temporary condition for people earning little payment until they moved on to a better paying job. These jobs helped build résumés, experiences, and skills for a better career. It has become the easiest way for people to receive easy pay. As years went on that idea began to demolish into a job that many families can get to survive and pay for their expenses. There have been many arguments going on, "Should minimum wage be raised or should it be lowered or eliminated altogether?" This action has its pros and cons. It can benefit many families as living cost has gone up, price for education is rising, and college students are in huge debts. It may increase poverty, but those
According to Principles of Macroeconomics by Gregory Mankiw, “The U.S. Congress first instituted a minimum wage with the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938” (Mankiw 4-119). Minimum wage is used to set a limit of pay employers must pay their employees. Through the years the minimum wage has raised as productivity has raised. The minimum wage has constantly fluctuated and changed multiple times.
Having minimum wage causes many people to become jobless all so a certain amount of people could live comfortably. Cooper believes that today’s workers are “stuck in jobs that pay so little they struggle to afford basic necessities.” Yes, some people may have trouble affording basic necessities, but at least they have some money that will help them out even if it’s just a little. A low paying job can make a difference between having nothing to eat at all or three small meals every day. If minimum wage increases, than the lives of many people would become even more difficult, and unbearable. A job that pays a little money is better than no job at all.
It is very difficult to live in America if you are living off of minimum wage, and many Americans are living off of it today. Raising minimum wages has its benefits like gaining more money to live better, but people do not see the down side of the increases in wages. With the increase in minimum wage, it also causes the cost of living to increase. How can this help the economy or help people? Minimum wages in America should not be increased because it will cause cost of living to increase, reduce employment, and cause businesses to lose money and workers.
Today the federal minimum wage is $5.15, but should be about $8.50 if Congress had adjusted it for inflation over the past 35 years. While $5.15 may not seen that bad, when factoring in such variables as sky rocketing gas prices, budgets can get pretty tight. David Shepard, a sophomore at Wayne State University, worked at a Meijer Retail and Grocery Superstore for over two years while in high school. At the time Shepard lived with his parents and didn’t have to worry about paying rent or buying groceries, all that he had to pay for was filling up his gas tank and paying for his car insurance. Shepard recalled, “It was all I could do to pay for the basics like gas and bill’s, I barely had any money to have fun on the weekends”. This is only an example of a high school student that can nearly slip by on minimum wage with only a few expenses. There are 1.8 million people in America with children under the age of 18 that would benefit from an increase in minimum wage (Minimum).
“Of course, nothing helps families make ends meet like higher wages. … And to everyone in this Congress who still refuses to raise the minimum wage, I say this: If you truly believe you could work full-time and support a family on less than $15,000 a year, go try it. If not, vote to give millions of the hardest-working people in America a raise.”