The minimum wage is a touchy subject in the United States. Many Americans wish for it to be raised, while others believe it should be done away with altogether. Proponents believe that raising the minimum wage will create a ripple effect that will see an increase in wages across the board, and in turn will stimulate the economy as people see increased buying power. Opponents, however, argue that raising the minimum wage will kill jobs, and that lowering or doing away with the minimum wage will result in significant job growth and do away with unemployment (Krugman). Currently, only 21 states have minimum wage laws that exceed the federal minimum. The other 29 sit at or below the Federal minimum (Minimum Wage Laws in the States). It is for these states, and the people in them, that it is important that we work together to raise the minimum wage to one that is fair for workers and their families. The current U.S. federal minimum wage for untipped workers is currently $7.25 an hour, as it has been since 2009. At this rate, a full time employee would earn an annual salary of $15,080, meaning that a family of two people, for example a single working mother with one child, working a full time minimum wage job, would sit below the federal poverty line of $15,730 for two people (2014 Poverty Guidelines). While it is true that there are tax breaks such as those for children, and the Earned Income Tax that exist to help such people living in poverty, the fact exists that the wages in the US have not kept up with inflation and the cost of living. While the value of the federal minimum wage has risen 21% since 1990, the cost of living itself has risen 67% (Gilson). Opponents are quick to argue that only unskilled workers are paid minimum wag... ... middle of paper ... ...4. Lowery, Wesley. “Senate Republicans block minimum wage increase bill” The Washington Post. The Washington Post, 30 April, 2014. Web. 7, May 2014 “Minimum Wage Laws in the States” United States Department of Labor. U.S. Department of Labor, n.d. Web. 5 May 2104. “Minimum Wage Mythbusters” United States Department of Labor. U.S. Department of Labor, n.d. Web. 5 May 2104. Stilwell, Victoria, Peter Robison, and William Selway. “Highest Minimum-Wage State Washington Beats U.S. in Job Creation.” Bloomberg News. Bloomberg, 8 March, 2014. Web. 5 May 2014. Wallace, Gregory. "Seattle mayor unveils plan for $15 minimum wage." CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 1 May, 2014. Web. 5 May 2014. West, Rachel and Michael Reich. “The Effects of Minimum Wages on SNAP Enrollments and Expenditures” Center for American Progress. Center for American Progress, 5 March 2014. Web. 5 March 2014.
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.
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 a such a thing as a free lunch.’’ We need to give up on something that we like to get something else that we like. That’s why, every single individual in the society face trade-offs. However, people have different status. Some people work as employees and some work as employers. In that case of minimum wage the trade off is between employees and employers. Employees work for employers in order to gain money and afford their minimal living expenses whereas employers give up on their money and pay for employees because employers take care of their need of labor. Employers pay for their workers who we call employees and employees gain hourly money. The calculated minimum money that they gain in an hour base called minimum wages. Besides, there is this cycle that everyone actually works
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.
"U.S. Department of Labor - Wage and Hour Division (WHD) - Minimum Wage." U.S. Department of Labor. U.S. Department of Labor, n.d. Web. 08 Feb. 2014.
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
Alex, Er E.M. Hess, and Thomas C. Frohlich, 24/7 Wall St. "Eight States with the Highest Minimum Wages." USA Today. Gannett, 03 Dec. 2013. Web. 07 May 2014.
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.
Weissmann, Jordan. "Seattle Is Poised to Raise Its Minimum Wage to $15. Goodbye, Seattle.." Slate Magazine. N.p., 2 May 2014. Web. 6 May 2014. .
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.
U.S. Department of Labor. 2014. “History of Federal Minimum Wage Rates Under the Fair Labor
Linda Gorman. "Minimum Wages." The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. 2008. Library of Economics and Liberty. Retrieved April 24, 2014 from the World Wide Web: http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/MinimumWages.html
Wittner, Lawrence. "The Minimum Wage Should Be Raised." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 Nov. 2013. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
Recently President Obama, because of the lack of effort and action by congress, has used executive action to implement the raising of the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour for new federal contracts, effective 2015. This, naturally, has brought out commentary, studies that support and oppose this, as well as predictions that are totally opposite of each other. (Davis, S.)
Today the federal minimum wage is $5.15, but should be about $8.50 if Congress had adjusted it for inflation over the past 35 years. While $5.15 may not seen that bad, when factoring in such variables as sky rocketing gas prices, budgets can get pretty tight. David Shepard, a sophomore at Wayne State University, worked at a Meijer Retail and Grocery Superstore for over two years while in high school. At the time Shepard lived with his parents and didn’t have to worry about paying rent or buying groceries, all that he had to pay for was filling up his gas tank and paying for his car insurance. Shepard recalled, “It was all I could do to pay for the basics like gas and bill’s, I barely had any money to have fun on the weekends”. This is only an example of a high school student that can nearly slip by on minimum wage with only a few expenses. There are 1.8 million people in America with children under the age of 18 that would benefit from an increase in minimum wage (Minimum).