Should Minimum Wage Be Raised?

863 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The minimum wage debate essay

Should Minimum Wage Be Raised? Minimum wage has always been a controversial issue. Many politicians use the argument of minimum wage for their own political propaganda. Some may argue minimum wage should be raised, while others believe it will have detrimental effects on our economy if it is raised. Surprising to most people, minimum wage earners make up only a small percent of American workers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, minimum wage workers make up about 2.8% of all workers in America. “The majority of minimum wage workers are between the ages of 16 and 24. These are high school and college students” (Sherk 2). But high school and college students are not the entire percentage of minimum wage earners. When minimum wage is raised, it affects the entire economy in many different ways. First, raising minimum wage affects the amount of job availability. Many businesses will reduce their amount of employees, because the business will not be able to afford to pay all the employees and still gain profit. As a matter of fact, James Sherk, a Bradley Fellow in Labor Policy, states “Businesses will not hire workers whose labor produces less than the cost of hiring them” (Sherk 2). On the other hand, Holly Sklar, a director of Business for Shared Prosperity, states “Contrary to what critics predicted when the minimum wage was raised, our economy had unusually low unemployment, high growth, low inflation, and declining poverty rates between 1996 and 2000” (Sklar 4). The problem with this statement is Sklar states that inflation was low, which is not the case now. Inflation is rather high, and unemployment is lower than ever. With every minimum wage increase in the past, inflation has also risen. Since minimum wage affe... ... middle of paper ... ...inflation arises which causes the cost of living to increase. Every solution people seem to offer to resolve the issue of minimum wage all seem to point towards the rise of unemployment. Minimum wage increases do not actually benefit the poor, as implied by politicians. In reality, minimum wage increases only help the middle class. The economy is in the middle of a deep recession. The government should not implement a minimum wage increase in the middle of a recession. Even those who support minimum wage should be able to realize that if the minimum wage were to increase right now, it would have detrimental effects on the economy. Cook states “I would rather see the labor markets get a little stronger before it’s raised again” (Cook 2). In the middle of a recession, minimum wage increases will only slow our nation’s recovery. Should minimum wage really be raised?

Show More
Related

  • The Minimum Wage Must Be Raised

    2107 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Pros and Cons of Raising Minimum Wage

    1941 Words  | 4 Pages

    Should the minimum wage increase? Well, raising minimum wage both has 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 advocates raising the minimum wage will grow the economy for everyone. In 2014, the president of the United States, Obama, called the current Congress to raise the national minimum wage, which proves that Obama is 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

    Read More

  • Raise the Minimum Wage

    559 Words  | 2 Pages

    This article gives you a yes and no opinion on whether or not the F...

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Raising Minimum Wage

    1668 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • The Minimum Wage Must Be Raised

    1033 Words  | 3 Pages

    "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."

    Read More

  • Minimum Wage : Raised Or Remain The Same?

    1796 Words  | 4 Pages

    All around there are people who argue about minimum wage. There are people who argue that the rate per hour should be raised. There are also people who argue that the rate per hour should be lowered. There are also people who argue the rate per hour is fine how it is and that it should stay the same. Should the rate really be raised, or should it instead be lowered? Why should the rate be raised, or why should it be lowered? What will happen if we lower the rate of minimum wage or what will happen if we raise the rate of minimum wage? What are minimum wage jobs anyway, or what is minimum wage? Minimum wage is the lowest amount of money per hour that an employer can pay their employees. In the United States, the federal rate of minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. Since this specific rate was set for every state in the United States, several of the states have raised their rate of minimum wage. Ohio is one of those several states to have changed their rate of minimum wage. At the moment, in the year 2015, the rate of minimum wage is $8.10 an hour. If the rate in Ohio is already above federal rate, why should it need to be changed anymore? The rate of minimum wage should not be raised; it should instead stay at the same rate. These jobs are not professional jobs, they are only starter jobs, if the rate of minimum wage is raised it will hurt people while trying to help others, also if the rate is raised above $8.10 an hour the surrounding states will be affected.

    Read More

  • Should Minimum Wage Be Raised Essay

    603 Words  | 2 Pages

    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."

    Read More

  • The Minimum Wage Must be Raised

    961 Words  | 2 Pages

    "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

    Read More

  • Minimum Wage: Impact on American Poverty

    1282 Words  | 3 Pages

    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,

    Read More

  • Should The Minimum Wage Be Raised?

    1222 Words  | 3 Pages

    Raising the minimum wage would affect employees. Supporters believe that raising minimum wage will improve people’s lives. We live in a consumer society. People who earn more spend more on products and services. As stated by BuzzFlash Headlines, “Higher Minimum Wage Would Create Over 100,000 New Jobs Nationally” (BuzzFlash Headline). Families would be able to use the money they earn to save for important things such as bills. If they wanted to, they could also buy more groceries or appliances. Non-supporters feel that raising the minimum wage will create many job losses. According to Economic Policy Institute, “Across the phase-in period of the increase, GDP would grow by about $22 billion, resulting in the creation of roughly 85,000 net new jobs over that period.”(David Cooper). If a family owned business has to raise the wage rate they pay, it is possible they will not hire as many people as they usually do. Businesses across the nation would be impacted by raising the minimum wage. According to the CNBC, “The great division among businesses and economists over the impact of raising...

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On The Increase Of Minimum Wage

    1448 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Minimum Wage Should Be Increased

    1846 Words  | 4 Pages

    Since its inception, the minimum wage has been a hotbed for debate. If today’s leaders could manage to increase minimum wage, millions of families would benefit.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Minimum Wage

    2003 Words  | 5 Pages

    The minimum wage being too low has been a public issue in America for generations. Basically, the debate includes two different opinions. Firstly, people who want to raise the minimum wage, and second, people who would rather is stay the same. The overwhelming majority of liberals are on the side that favors a raise. Additionally, a somewhat smaller proportion of conservatives favor the change as well, but for different reasons. The liberal opinion on raising the minimum wage is based on the idea that putting more money in the people’s pockets, will stimulate the economy, and decrease poverty. The problem that conservatives and liberals alike have with this, is that a few direct consequences are proven to apply when raising wages. Some proposed consequences include unemployment, inflation, and unfairness to higher educated people. Another main point is that raising the minimum wage is thought to helps small business by increasing worker satisfaction. This issue of minimum wage has become increasingly popular and important in current times, as president Obama has proposed the idea of raising the minimum wage of contract workers to 10.10$ per hour (about a 30% increase from the current 7.25$ per hour minimum wage). A large number of people consider this wage hike unnecessary due to the fact that today’s value of minimum is higher than it has ever been since the 80’s, and because the wage hike comes at too high of a cost. All things considered, the issue of raising minimum wage is not a battle of political parties and their agendas, its really a debate between everyone.

    Read More

  • Minimum Wage: Should It Vary Across the United States?

    810 Words  | 2 Pages

    The thought that minimum wage should rise as inflation has risen and as productivity increases is a good thought. According to an article on the Huffington Post, “minimum wage should have reached $21.72 an hour in 2012 if it kept up with increases in worker productivity”. The article also stated had

    Read More

  • The Minimum Wage Must Be Increased

    1491 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many critics claim that that raising minimum wage increases unemployment, especially for unskilled workers, and harms small businesses, including grocery stores and restaurants. The argument declares that companies such as these rely mostly on unskilled workers for labor, and if the minimum wage increases, then their profits and, therefore, hiring would decline, creating a...

    Read More

More about Should Minimum Wage Be Raised?

Open Document