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
While raising the minimum wage is done with good intentions, critics argue that a higher minimum wage will harm those it is actually trying to help. Raising the minimum wage, while a controversial issue, will have an overall economic impact that reaches not only minimum wage workers, but also to small businesses and to the prices of commodities. There is nothing new about raising minimum wage. Congress has raised the minimum wage five times over the past four decades alone in an effort to keep minimum wage up-to-date. Yet, inequality between workers has risen since the last decades of the 20th century (Parks 701).
Minimum wage started shortly after the great depression and gained a foothold with the U.S Fair Labor Standa... ... middle of paper ... ...ic stimulus, low-income households earn more money, and they are more motivated to spend it, meaning that they are putting more dollars in the American economy. Issues pertaining to minimum wage might not affect all Americans, but for those that it does affect: we might ask why the controversy? There are no simple answers as this battle did not develop overnight. Minimum wage is something of much technicality, researches on minimum wage help to develop answers on whether or not it affects employment or unemployment, another issue is it helps to determine if inflation will occur. It is more than just coefficients or simple the elasticity of wages.
These workers would earn a lilt bit below the poverty line for a family of two (Blankinship). Seattle Mayor Ed Murray is pushing this effort since December of last year. Some council members, like Kshama Sawant of the Socialist Party, also support this measure. The federal minimum wage is currently set at $7.25 an hour, with President Obama’s plans to push it to $10.10 an hour (Weissman). Faster workers went on strike in many cities to demand better pay and right to unionize.
There are a couple explanations making a connection between increasing the minimum wage will create job opportunities in the united states. The key is that “poor and middle class families tend to spend more of their income than the wealthy, since they 're often struggling to meet basic needs” (Jordan Weissmann n.pag). So by taking money from businesses and giving it to their worst paid employees, raising the minimum wage might, in theory, increase consumer spending,which in turn boosts the economy and creates more jobs opportunities. According to the Economic Policy Institute, raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour “should increase wages by $35 billion and boost economic activity by $22 billion—which by their account is enough to create those 85,000 jobs” (Jordan Weissmann
Consequently, many businesses will do this when minimum wage is increased due to increase in expenses by it to keep the business running. According to Olivo, a business owner of a small printing press in New Jersey, states that increase in minimum wage will increases his expenses; therefore, he either has to reduce his expenses by “cutting employees, not hiring new employees, or bring in new technology to decrease the number of employees he needs” (“Raising…”). Some statistics has proven this kind of event happening on where increasing minimum wage will also increase unemployment. For instance, Congress enacted a minimum wage increase in 1974 and unemployment has risen from 5.1% to 9.0% in 13 months (Jaarda). Furthermore, Congress again raised the minimum wage in 1978 for four years and unemployment went from 6.4% to 10.8% (Jaarda).
The first will change the rate from $8.00 to $9.00 in July of 2014, and the second increase, to $10.00, in January 2016. In this paper, I will discuss, compare, and weigh the pros and cons of the minimum wage increase in California. Governor Jerry Brown based the minimum wage increase off of the bases of inflation. Governor Jerry Brown explained that the rising costs in California have not kept constant with the minimum wage meaning that the three million Californians earning minimum wage find themselves living in poverty and living paycheck to paycheck, Governor Jerry Brown explained, "The minimum wage has not kept pace with rising costs… This legislation is overdue and will help families that are struggling in this harsh economy." At first glance this bill seems to be doing great things, helping low income people and families earn a more livable wage, but like all things there will be both good and bad outcomes of this bill.
However, the issue has split into a bipartisan debate in Washington. Liberal ideals stem from the belief that raising the minimum wage is positive and helps close the income gap; alternatively, conservatives feel raising the minimum wage causes unnecessary harm to employment demographics. Raising the minimum wage is a necessary course of action to aid the bottom half of an economically dynamic society. Raising the minimum wage is a simple and effective way to reduce income inequality. Over the past thirty years, the depreciation of the minimum wage has contributed to a ten to twenty percent increase in income inequality (“President Obama’s” 12).
There are several benefits in raising the minimum wage, as it reduces the number of people in poverty which in turn reduces the government expenditures to support people living in poverty. Also raising the minimum wage is beneficial to the economy because it creates wage growth which in turn gives people more money to spend. Finally, another benefit in raising the minimum wage is that it would reduce the income inequality gap, as there are many CEO’s in Canada and the US that make millions of dollars every year; while people earning minimum wage are struggling to survive. In the end, Canada and the United States need to raise the minimum wage in order to help people rise above the poverty line which will in turn help grow the economy. To begin with, the government in the US needs to raise the minimum wage in order for people to rise above the poverty line, which will result in reduced government expenditures.
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.