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History of the minimum wage
Impact of raising the minimum wage
The arguments for or against minimum wages
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The federally mandated minimum wage has been a divisive political issue in American politics since it first came into effect in 1938 under the Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. FDR advocated for the minimum wage with the argument that “all but the hopelessly reactionary will agree that to conserve our primary resources of manpower, government must have some control over maximum hours, minimum wages, the evil of child labor, and the exploitation of unorganized labor” (Greene 2013). This idea led to the passage of the first minimum wage law in American history, twenty five cents an hour (Greene 2013). Prior to the passage of this law, several state minimum wage laws had been struck down as an unconstitutional prohibition of workers’ rights to set the price for their own labor. However, in 1941, the Supreme Court case U.S v Darby Lumber Co upheld the federal minimum wage, overturning the precedent it had set for state level minimum wages. The Court dismissed the argument that Darby Lumber did not engage in interstate commerce based on the commerce clause and stated that Congress had the constitutional right to regulate interstate commerce, along with intrastate commerce that directly affected interstate commerce (U.S v Darby Lumber Co.1941). Justice Stone, writing for the majority stated that Congress “May chose the means reasonably adapted to the attainment of the permitted end (the minimum wage) even though they involve the control of intrastate activities. Such legislation has often been sustained with respect to powers other than the commerce power granted to the national government, when the means chosen, although not themselves within the granted power, were nevertheless deemed appropriate aids to the accomplishment of some... ... middle of paper ... ...mieson, Dave. “Obama State of the Union Address: President Calls for raising the Minimum Wage,” Huffington Post. 13 February 2013. Armstrong, Ari “Minimum Wage Laws: Economically Harmful Because Immoral,” The Objective Standard. 7 March 2013. “Tipped Workers: Information” Raisetheminimumwage.com. U.S Department of Labor, “Bureau of Labor Unemployment Statistics: October 2013,” DOL.gov. U.S Department of Labor, “Minimum Wage by State,” DOL.gov. Worstall, Tim, “The Absurdity of a $15 Minimum Wage,” Forbes. 1 September 2013. Hanauer, Nick. “The Capitalist Case for a $15 minimum wage” Bloomberg News. 19 June 2013. Dreier, Peter. “Raising the Minimum Wage is good for Business (but the corporate lobby doesn’t think so,” Huffington Post. 23 February 2013. Internal Revenue Service, “EITC 2012.” Other source authors are directly stated in text.
“Franklin Roosevelt’s 1937 impassioned speech calling on Congress to help the one-third of Americans who were “ill-housed, ill-clad, and ill-nourished” heralded in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and with it a national minimum wage. Echoes of that speech are still heard today. Senator Edward Kennedy (1989: S14707), in his criticism of the most recent increases in the minimum wage, declared:
In this argument Tanzie Dorough explains why he believes why workers deserve a $15 Minimum Wage. Dorough mentions how he has personal attachments to this cause, also how poverty wages affect the United States, and lastly how large companies keep all the money for themselves.
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
Everyone grows up in different circumstances whether it is rich, middle class, or poor. No matter the financial background one is from everyone is entitled to their own opinion. With that being said, when it comes to what it feels like to be on welfare before judging or stereotyping as said on the clip "The 30-Day challenge on minimum wage", could you survive living someone life, let alone for 30 days. According, to Brenda Dalla casa " Yes there are people who abused all kinds of systems regardless of their tax bracket, but too often I hear people equate poverty with laziness or worst criminal behavior and it is heart-wrenching for me on a deeply personal level." Although Dalla Casa has strong use of pathos and ethos due to her lack
Hamermesh, Daniel S. “President Obama And The Minimum Wage—A Politico-Economic Bargain.” Intereconomics/Review Of European Economic Policy 48.2 (2013): 131-132. EconLit. Web. 24 Oct. 2013
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.
Minimum wage was established state wide in 1938 by Franklin Delano Roosevelt; at that time it was only 25 cents which is equivalent to 4 dollars in today’s world. It was established as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act which covered youth, government and overtime pay. Massachusetts was actually the first state before Franklin’s statewide acknowledgement, and it only covered woman and children without overtime. There are lot of issues with minimum wage now such as setting a statewide minimum wage to $10.10, which does not benefit places were living is expensive such as in New York. It leads to an imbalance in different states’ economies, and the government setting price controls in wage has some issues.
Velasquez, James. “Minimum Wage Debate: How Sweatshops Are Actually Good for the Poor.” Policy Mic. N.p., 9 June 2012. Web. 7 Feb. 2014. .
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.
"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
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,
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.
Wittner, Lawrence. "The Minimum Wage Should Be Raised." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 Nov. 2013. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
Henry, Ed. "Obama to Sign Executive Order Raising Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors." Fox News. FOX News Network, 28 Jan. 2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
...happened and since 2001, critics of the NMW are progressively changing their mind as the LPC has managed to raise the wage of low paid workers without leading to any substantial reduction in employment. The NMW has also more positive than negative aspects, having reduced poverty and wage inequality with only modest effects on employment and having affected productivity favourably, while only reducing firms’ profitability by a small percentage. In a monopsony, the NMW could even increase employment if a proper wage is implemented. Overall, it can be said that the National Minimum Wage is a major tool to enhance a country’s welfare and boost its economy. Nevertheless, being only established for 15 years, are we able to capture the long run effects of the NMW today; or should we wait another ten years to conclude on the effects of the NMW on employment and poverty ?