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History of the minimum wage
The impact of the national minimum wage
The impact of the national minimum wage
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Abolishing Minimum Wage Increase, decrease or abolish minimum wage; which is best for our citizens and our economy? Minimum wage was implemented to help unskilled workers to make a living wage but as time goes on the value of minimum wage has plummet. In my research paper I will provide knowledge about minimum wage such as the history, purpose, benefits and the results. I will also present the pros and cons of abolishing the minimum wage and the increase/decrease of minimum. The minimum wage was originally implemented in 1938 in the Fair Labor Standards Act setting an hourly wage rate at 25 cents. Throughout the years it has been raised multiple times and recently been raised to $7.25 an hour. Between adjustment periods and inflation increasing, the real value or the minimum wage has decreased. The minimum wage was supposed to help the poor, less skilled, younger workers, but rather it put these workers out of a job. This resulted from business owners believing that it wasn't worth employing anyone to doing something of value that was less than what they were paying them. The minimum wage ended up reducing jobs, which reduces the employees work experience which affects the economy. The minimum wage is a price floor, creating a surplus of labor. When workers work for less than minimum wage, they are working "under the table" which is illegal. Abolishing the minimum wage would have a great impact on both the employee and the business owner, and have an overall effect on the economy. The minimum wage being abolished would greatly benefit the employee. It would give unskilled and unqualified workers, such as teenagers, college students, interns, and part time workers, the opportunity to be hired, with no discrimination or rankin... ... middle of paper ... ...ur freedom to decide what pay we want to offer or accept. Works Cited Elwell, Craig. "The Real Minimum Wage." Inflation and the Real Minimum Wage: A Fact Sheet. (2013): n. page. Web. 22 Oct. 2013. . Messerli, Joe. "Should the Minimum Wage Be Abolished (i.e. Reduced to $0.00)?." BalancedPolitics.org. N.p.. Web. 22 Oct 2013. minimum_wage.htm>. Patterson, Steve, producer. "The Truth about the Minimum Wage." YouTube, 2012. Web. 22 Oct 2013. . Tucker, Irvin B. "Survey of Economics." Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning. 2008. Watkins, Don. "To Protect The Defenseless, We Must Abolish The Minimum Wage." Forbes. N.p., 27 Mar 2013. Web. 22 Oct 2013. 2013/03/27/to-protect-the-defenseless-we-must-abolish-the-minimum-wage/>.
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.
The United States minimum wage is not indexed to inflation. Due to this fact, the purchasing power of minimum wage falls as the price of consumer goods increases. The current hourly minimum wage is set at $7.25, however many states do pay above this rate. One example of this is in Michigan, the current hourly minimum wage is $7.40. The last time a change occurred to raise minimum wage was in 2009. President Obama has put out a proposal that is designed to raise the federally required hourly minimum wage to $10.10 in 2015. The public opinion of this proposal is all over the board ranging from a positive outlook to a negative one. Some of the negative remarks are that it would dampen the economy and shrink the hiring done by small businesses. “The Household Survival Budget for the average New Jersey family of four is $58,500 and for a single adult is $25,368 in 2010. These numbers highl...
Understanding the basic concept of minimum wage is important for every single individual. We all live in this world together, and it is obvious that there is an order. In order to continue our lives and afford our basic needs, we all need to work and gain wealth. As the old adage says ‘‘There ain’t such a thing as a free lunch. ’’
Dudley. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. From “Raise the Minimum Wage to $10 in 2010.” Let Justice Roll Living Wage Campaign. 2009. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
Minimum wage is a topic that has been popping up since the 1980s. From whether we should lower it, or even raise it, but now in the 2000s minimum wage has been the center of attention more than ever. There are two sides to this topic of minimum wage; whether it creates more jobs or does not create jobs. Those who argue that raising minimum wage will create more jobs will have a rebuttal which is that it does not only cause the loss of jobs but that it would make things much worse and vice versa for those arguing raising minimum wage will cause loss of jobs. There will be two authors representing opposite views, Nicholas Johnson supporting minimum wage will not cost jobs with his article “ Evidence Shows Raising Minimum Wage Hasn’t Cost Jobs”
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
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
Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour has been extensively debated over the last year or so. Minimum wage is the undermost wage allowed by law to be given to an employee for their services. Introduced in 1939, its purpose was to stabilize the economy, which was healing from the Great Depression. Most importantly, it was designed to protect the health and welling-being of employees. Currently, the Federal Government 's minimum is $7.25 per hour ($14,500 per year). The ones in favor of the increase are saying that it used to be a living wage; however, now it is not and it now needs to be line with changes to the cost of living. In addition, an increase in minimum wage can increase the productivity and decrease income inequality and poverty. On the other spectrum, the ones who are against the increase are saying that the increased labor cost will drive up unemployment, affect small businesses negatively, and cause other workers from different
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.
Over the years the cost of living has been on the rise. Therefore, it is only right for minimum wage to increase as the cost of living increases. Many states and even some individual cities have taken the first steps toward raising the minimum wage. States like Washington and cities like San Francisco have already raised their minimum wage above the federal minimum wage. This is a very good start as it is becoming harder and harder for Americans to start and take care of their families. We need more states and cities to follow their lead some more Americans can feel more financially stable. This will make a better America for us all.
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,
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
Congress created minimum wage with the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. The first minimum wage was only 25 centers per hour. Through history the minimum wage has increased a little at a time, umping a couple cents each time. The last time the United States changed the minimum wage was in 2007 which was a large jump from $5.15 per hour to $7.25 per hour. This jump of $2.10 was a large increase. Through the years it is evident that the minimum wage is constantly changing. “. It has averaged $6.60 an hour in purchasing power in 2013 dollars. But it has ranged from a low of $3.09 an hour in late 1948 to a high of $8.67 an hour in 1968(Sherk, J. (2013, June 25).
Pyke, Alan. "The Minimum Wage: Myths & Facts." Media Matters for America. N.p., 15 Feb. 2013. Web. 18 May 2014.
In the 2014 State of the Union address, President Obama called on Congress to raise the national minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour, and soon after signed an Executive Order to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 for the individuals working on new federal service contracts. An increase in the minimum wage has been a topic of discussion for many years now, and it looks like this year will finally see the first increase of minimum wage in 10 years. Not everyone agrees that there should be an increase, but many states have already raised their minimum wage rates because of the federal government’s inaction. Iowa raised the state’s wage, and it will rise again in 2016. Clearly there are benefits to a higher minimum wage; the current minimum wage in the United States should be raised because it helps the economy by increasing employment, and it is now at the lowest value it has been in more than 50 years, causing hardship for earners of minimum wage.