Persuasive Essay On Minimum Wage

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There have been many discussions since President Obama's speech in 2013 about the increase in minimum wage. A number of people are worried about what it could do for them and not what it could ultimately do to them or to their country. The debt from the increase is going to have to go to someone. The decision, however, would be like the flip of the coin with the citizens being one side and the government on the other. Many would say the “coin” is double-headed in favor of the government. Education on the topic of minimum wage is the first step in making a decision on whether one is for the increase of minimum wage or against it. This all started 76 years ago in 1938 when Franklin D. Roosevelt was in presidency. On June 25, 1938 Franklin D. Roosevelt signed 121 bills into law while Congress was adjourned for 9 days. The president did this to avoid pocket vetoes. Before all this, the bill had its altercations in the Senate and throughout the different branches of government, but it scraped by finally being able to see daylight again. When a bill is proposed it can take years to get it to come to a vote and become a bill. This particular bill helped set work standards, such as banning child labor, and also set the first recorded mandatory wage at 25 cents an hour which is the equivalent to $4.04 in today’s market and a 44-hour workweek. This laid the stones for what society now knows as minimum wage. According to Wilson (2012) ”Since 1938 the federal minimum wage has been raised 22” times with every time not being enough. When will enough finally become plenty? In 2013 President Obama wished to increase minimum wage from $7.25, which is the current hourly rate, to $9.00. (Salam, 2014) Shortly after this, President Obama proposed to c... ... middle of paper ... ...nds like: it is the bare minimum to survive. There are too many people with champagne taste and beer budgets. Minimum wage is not supposed to be a lavish life style. For that reason, it is imperative that people should move on to bigger and better things. A person should never get complacent on their life and should always try to better their self and their life. That is why the minimum wage should not be raised because all the outcomes point to further unemployment and economic down spiral all the way to a possible disaster. The United States should encourage people to make the effort to further their education and earn the better paying jobs. There is an old proverb that says, “give a man a fish and you’ll feed him for a day, show him how to catch a fish, and you’ll feed him for a life time.” (Martin 1996) The United States needs to stop giving and start teaching.

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