Minimum wage has obviously changed over the decades. From $0.25 in 1938 to currently $7.25 for all covered, nonexempt workers since 2009. In the reasonable eye, one would think working in a job that only allows them to receive minimum wage will be motivation to go back to school and get a better paying job. But what if minimum wage increased? Making the average minimum wage amount $9.00 to even $10.00? The average amount of minimum wage in some states will increase starting January 4, 2014. In advanced; this is going to cause controversy between the people and governors of the states that passed this particular bill. Since 1938; October 28 to be exact, uprising Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black created the first successful national minimum wage bill. This bill guaranteed a minimum wage that provided; overtime pay and protection for children from unsafe labor. This was known as the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). It included more workers under its purview and increase wages incrementally. [J. Sherk June 25, 2013]. The hourly rate in 1938 was $0.25. Minimum wage have gradually increased every couple of years from $0.10 to $0.15. Sometimes these increases happened every year; back in the day of course. In 1963 Branching from the FLSA, the Equal Pay Act Worked into place making companies pay 100% equal amount of money; despite if they’re male or female. Inventing the phrase “equal pay for equal work.” [Taunton Daily Gazette Jan. 11, 2014]. In 2007 President George W. Bush passed the bill increasing minimum wage to $5.85. The first increase since 1997, which was $5.15 at the time. And now currently the minimum wage is $7.25 since 2009. Although 19 states including the District of Columbia have higher minimum ... ... middle of paper ... ...r pass? Maybe, maybe not. If so, we the people of the nation will have to deal with whether it’s a good decision or bad one. We have adapted to this particular change for centuries and it did not affect us in an unsatisfying way. But then again, the word isn’t how it use to be back in 2009; the last increase in minimum wage. Works Cited States Take Different Stance on Minimum Wage Legislation. (2013). Payroll Manager's Report, 17(11), 12-13. Congressman Fear Mongers On Minimum Wage: ‘You Guys Wanna Pay $20 For A Hamburger?’ (2013). By A. Pyke and S. Keye History of Federal Minimum Wage Rates Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 1938 – 2009/ http://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/chart.htm Top 5 Reasons Why Raising the Minimum Wage Is Good for You and Me. (2012) By M. Auerback What is Minimum Wage: Its History and Effects on the Economy (2013) By J. Sherk
In this article, James Dorn and David Cooper argue whether raising the federal minimum wage will help or hurt low-wage workers. James Dorn, Vice President of Academic Affairs at the Cato Institute, argues that raising the federal minimum wage would hurt low-wage workers by reducing job opportunities and raising prices. Dorn also states that the federal minimum wage is responsible for high unemployment among teenagers and minorities and lower productivity among low-wage workers. David Cooper, an analyst from the Economic Policy Institute, argues that the federal minimum wage is not a living wage and that raising the minimum wage doesn’t have a significant effect on employment. Cooper also states that eighty percent of low-wage workers are at least twenty years old and that eighty-five percent of small businesses already pay their employees more than the minimum
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,
The minimum wage has been a policy tool used in the United States since its establishment with the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938. It has been uses as a tool to remedy some of the effects of poverty by raising the wages of the low wage workers. It has long been the worthy goal of many policy makers to find solutions to alleviate pove...
Raising the minimum will end up hurting Americans more than helping them. The people that are for raising minimum wage are people who believe that increasing minimum wage can help those people who are unskilled and need an income they can live on. Yet, raising minimum wage would do the opposite and make employers have to fire people who earn minimum wage, because they can't afford the higher wages. People need to realize that increasing the minimum wage would hurt people more than help them. In the end increasing minimum wage would result in some people being let go, for the reason, businesses can't afford paying them minimum wage anymore.
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.
Transition: Last year the federal minimum wage celebrated its 75th birthday last week as part of the federal 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act. The Act banned child labor, set a 44 hour maximum workweek, and guaranteed a minimum wage of 25 cents an hour. (Hitzik) Since then Congress has raised the rate 23 times. (USDOL)
Many people can think back and remember what it was like to put in an application for that first job and be presented with a position. Taking that position represents adulthood and is a very exciting time for a young person. All first jobs usually start with a minimum wage. Minimum wage is the minimum an employer has to pay an unskilled worker based on the regulations set forth by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that was originally established in 1938. As people think back about their first jobs they can also remember what the minimum wage was when they took that position. Minimum wage is only increased based on the cost of living from the prior year. If the previous year shows an increase then the minimum wage will increase in the coming new year. Sinegal (2009) stated "The increase in the minimum wage is long overdue. Paying your employees well is not only the right thing to do but it makes for good business". Based on the cost of living we show for the year of 2009 minimum wage will not increase for 2010. Minimum wage is currently at $7.25 per hour. Most people who start at this rate are young people who are in high school or college and are working a few hours to help pay for school. After they graduate they can apply for better jobs and move on. People who live in areas without growth, single mothers trying to raise their children, and uneducated people are working more than one minimum wage job to make enough money to pay their financial obligations. While the cost of living did not increase, minimum wage is low because no increase is planned for 2010 a...
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.
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).
In 1892 Federal Government adopt an 8 hour workday and other wages standard for employee. In 1903 Congress create the U.S. Department of Commerce and Labor. In 1933 Congress passes the National Industrial Recovery Act covering private sector wage hour (Congressional Digest). “On Saturday, June 25, 1938, to avoid pocket vetoes 9 days after Congress had adjourned, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed 121 bills. Among these bills was a landmark law in the Nation’s social and economic development- Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938” (Jonathan Grossman, Dol.gov). Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 becomes basic federal statute governing minimum wage, working hour, equal pay, and child labor. Minimum wages was set at .25 cents an hour (Congressional Digest).
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
Armstrong, Ari “Minimum Wage Laws: Economically Harmful Because Immoral,” The Objective Standard. 7 March 2013.
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.
Bernstein, Jared. “Would Raising the Minimum Wage Harm the Economy?” The CQ Researcher 16 Dec. 2005:1069.