Benefits of Raising the Minimum Wage

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“Paying your employees well is not only the right thing to do, but it makes for good business”-Jim Sinegal, CEO of Costco. Many of America’s employees are not being paid well, however, for the annual income of a full-time employee who works year-round is less than $16,000 (about $15, 080) according to the current federal minimum wage (Rebuilding). To put into retrospect how out-dated the federal minimum wage is, consider that the minimum wage of 1956 amounted to exactly $7.93 in 2009 (Henderson). How progressive is it that our nation’s workers being paid less today than workers from the 50’s? The federal minimum wage should be raised in order to assist families out of poverty, to ensure the effort and loyalty of workers, and to give people more money to put back into the economy.
America’s thousands of tipped employees (such as waiters and waitresses and nail salon workers) earn $2.13 an hour on the current federal minimum wage (Rebuilding). These people rely almost entirely on the random and unpredictable decency of strangers giving them the tips they are due. Before one complains about lazy couch-potatoes who don’t want to work and are pampered by government assistance, take a peek at the 2008 Conference of Mayor’s Hunger and Homelessness Survey, which states that the 42% of persons requesting emergency food assistance were employed (Henderson). Do also keep in mind the thousands of single mothers struggling to rear their children in our country and the sexist, misogynistic society we live in which leads to ever-present wage gaps between women and men and the devaluation of traditionally female-dominated jobs. As stated previously, a full-time employee who works year-round will barely make over $15,000 annually, bu...

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...eople of all classes could profit over this prospect. Thousands of families would be raised over the poverty line and businesses would see an increase of productivity and loyalty from workers all while helping to boost the economy; it’s a win-win for everyone. The federal minimum wage should be raised so as to improve the welfare of the entire country.

Works Cited

"Fair Pay for Women Requires Increasing the Minimum Wage and Tipped Minimum Wage." National Women's Law Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2014. .
Henderson, David R. "Raising the Minimum Wage Will Reduce Poverty." Opposing Viewpoints. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Feb. 2014.
"Rebuilding an Economy That Works for All of Us." Facts. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2014. .

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