Would raising the minimum wage actually help the American economy? Some people believe it would take people out of poverty. Others think that it will make it easier for people to supply for their families. Many believe that it should have been raised with the price of inflation over the years. While any of these reasons might be true, there are still many consequences that could take action if minimum wage is raised. Most Republicans are completely against the idea of raising it while President Obama would like to raise it from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 an hour. Raising the minimum wage would cost jobs, place people in higher tax brackets, inflate prices, and create greater competition for jobs. Raising the minimum wage would cost jobs. First, I would cost more money to hire low-skill workers. Second, businesses would not be able to afford as many workers because they would be paying them so much. The Congressional Budget Office has stated that raising it to $9.00 an hour would cause a loss of 100,000 jobs. Raising it to $10.10 an hour would result in 500,000 jobs lost. (See Figure 1) Losing jobs is a serious issue because the unemployment rate would rise. This makes it harder to lower an unemployment rate because you have just raised it. Less people would be able to find jobs as well. When it cost more money to hire low-skill workers, businesses suffer. For example, fast-food chains rely mainly on low-skill workers. This would force restaurants, like McDonalds, to pay someone $10 an hour just to flip burgers. Brian Brenberg states, “The end result is that it will be harder for students like mine to land that first job and acquire those skills that lead to upward mobility.” (Brenberg) Plus, a White House graph reports 44% of mini... ... middle of paper ... ...ime. This would be an extreme problem for schools especially ones that are already trying to find teachers. Other low-income jobs like teaching would suffer from this. After people quit, there would be more people trying to get these jobs that pay so much for so little work effort. Job loss, people being placed in higher tax brackets, inflation, and greater job competition are all results that would occur if the minimum wage is raised. It would be harder for businesses to expand because of the costs of workers. Taxes would increase for many people. The consumer would not be able to do their grocery shopping without bringing home a big receipt. High school students would not be able to find a job so they can get experience. Now is the time for America to think about future generations and the problems it will create for those generations if minimum wage is raised.
While some may feel increasing wage will create additional financial issues, others feel that increasing minimum wage will give workers more money. The national minimum wage in the United States is $7.25. Employees and lawmakers feel that increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 will help boost the economy. The increase of minimum wage will bring people out of poverty and will be able to stimulate the economy by buying more items. This will help the nation pay back more debt and bring in more revenue for the country. Besides a positive effect with the nation as a whole, it will help workers financially. For example, by working thirty years with earning only minimum wage, some workers will benefit from increasing minimum wage. They can finally pay off old debts and loans since they will have more money in their pocket. Also, they will be able to pay bills on time and not have to pay a late fee. An increase in minimum wage will allow them to have additional money to buy items they need. Another way increasing minimum will help people is more independence ...
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 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.
These are just a few of the many awful effects that raising the minimum wage brings. When workers hear a raise in the minimum wage, all they think about is a bigger paycheck and not what will happen to low-skilled workers, the cost of living, and the added stress to unemployment rates. New workers with less skills will have a harder time finding a job. The cost of living is going to hike due to inflation. Unemployment rates will rise due to added stress on businesses. An increase in the minimum wage is great news to a high schooler saving up to buy a new phone, but terrible news to someone trying to raise a family. If the minimum wage continues to increase, these problems will get worse instead of
There are indeed risks of raising the minimum wage, but the rewards outweigh those risks, so the minimum wage should be raised. Some people who are against this may say ...“But other economists say raising the minimum wage actually hurts the very people it's designed to help: One of the basic laws of economics is that if you raise the price of something, there will be less demand for it. In this case, if you raise the price of workers, the demand for workers will decline. That could mean companies cutting the hours of employees, laying them off, or hiring fewer workers in the future.”... Yes, it could hurt the people it is designed to help, but different states have done this and found the opposite to be true. With America’s still fragile economy we need a boost, a helping hand; And this could be it. So next time you go down to vote on a mayor or maybe even the next president, remember that raising the minimum wage is a good thing, and you should be supporting
According to Gabrielle Karol’s article, “How Raising the Minimum Wage Would Help the Economy”, increasing the minimum wage would cause a decrease in poverty and debt for many families. An individual who works for minimum wage roughly earns 15, 080 dollars a year. Karol insists 15,080 dollars a year barley allows individuals to provide food and shelter for their families. Karol states, “A common definition states that the living wage should be high enough that no more than 30 % of take-home pay needs to be spent on housing.” With an increase in minimum wage, families who currently have one or more members earning minimum wage would be able to afford a car, afford medical insurance, pay utilities, and provide meals for their families; raising the minimum wage would allow families to afford the essentials in life (Karol). Not only would families be able to sustain a standard living, they would be able to pay off old bills and pay off the debt they have...
Raising the minimum wage would affect employees. Supporters believe that raising minimum wage will improve people’s lives. We live in a consumer society. People who earn more spend more on products and services. As stated by BuzzFlash Headlines, “Higher Minimum Wage Would Create Over 100,000 New Jobs Nationally” (BuzzFlash Headline). Families would be able to use the money they earn to save for important things such as bills. If they wanted to, they could also buy more groceries or appliances. Non-supporters feel that raising the minimum wage will create many job losses. According to Economic Policy Institute, “Across the phase-in period of the increase, GDP would grow by about $22 billion, resulting in the creation of roughly 85,000 net new jobs over that period.”(David Cooper). If a family owned business has to raise the wage rate they pay, it is possible they will not hire as many people as they usually do. Businesses across the nation would be impacted by raising the minimum wage. According to the CNBC, “The great division among businesses and economists over the impact of raising...
...the future. Not only will raising the minimum wage provide more money but the workers can supply more food, be able to pay all of their bills and spend more if the wage was raised by at least five dollars. It could also benefit college students that are trying to find a way to pay for their education. Over 88 percent of workers who would benefit are at least 20 years old and in college (Cooper and Hall 2013). On the other hand, increasing the minimum wage can also cause higher rates of unemployment.
Although raising minimum wage would help many people in many ways. Raising the minimum wage would be a great plus for average American families. Poverty is a very big problem in America right now, but it also a problem all of the world, and has been for years.
Since the cost of living has gone up drastically, raising the minimum wage is the right thing to do to boost the economy, lift workers morale and productivity, and improve the self sufficiency of potentially millions of American workers. Raising the minimum wage is a vital step in decreasing poverty and giving every family the opportunity to survive and succeed. Even businesses agree raising the minimum wage would give many customers more money to spend in turn increasing sales and higher profits for the companies. Therefore, raising the minimum wage would help and not hurt the economy and it would give many Americans a better livelihood and a more secured life. In today’s society it is very expensive to live in American and even getting by daily is difficult if you are living on minimum wage. Therefore, anyone who thinks the minimum wage should not be raised should try living in
First, raising minimum wage affects the amount of job availability. Many businesses will reduce their amount of employees, because the business will not be able to afford to pay all the employees and still gain profit. As a matter of fact, James Sherk, a Bradley Fellow in Labor Policy, states “Businesses will not hire workers whose labor produces less than the cost of hiring them” (Sherk 2). On the other hand, Holly Sklar, a director of Business for Shared Prosperity, states “Contrary to what critics predicted when the minimum wage was raised, our economy had unusually low unemployment, high growth, low inflation, and declining poverty rates between 1996 and 2000” (Sklar 4). The problem with this statement is Sklar states that inflation was low, which is not the case now. Inflation is rather high, and unemployment is lower than ever. With every minimum wage increase in the past, inflation has also risen. Since minimum wage affe...
People will lose their jobs to keep businesses running. Teens and college kids will not have a place in the workforce causing them to start off with financial problems. The economy could fall apart from the cost of living increasing too much too fast. People would argue that it is better to raise the minimum wage but they are misinformed. They want change but the wrong kind. We need to fight for more jobs and better education. If it was easier for these low-skilled people to get more skills then they can get their higher paying jobs without affecting everybody. The only time the minimum wage should increase if because of inflation. There is a point where it does get too low but a dollar or two is very different from six. The minimum wage is low for a reason. Let’s not change something that is there to
On the other side of the argument Americans believe that with the increase of minimum wages it would help Americans out a lot more. One possible way that the increase in minimum wage may help an individual out is in the article Minimum wage Pros and Cons, “The Economic Policy Institute stated that a minimum wage increase from the current rate of $7.25 an hour to $10.10 would inject $22.1 billion net into the economy and create about 85,000 new jobs over a three-year phase-in period. Though this may be true, one problem
The minimum wage must be raised because the cost of living has gone up considerably. Education is essential if one wishes to work, and the cost of education has increased drastically in the past twenty years. Companies should be requied to pay workers what they deserve, and that is more than minimum wage is now. With our new technology and the technology in the future work is harder and more complicated. A minimum wage increase would raise the wages of many workers and increase benefits to those disadvantaged workers.
Raising the minimum wage will prove to be detrimental as it will take away opportunities from high school students to gain insight and explore different career options. Additionally, it will also reduce the unemployment rate, making it harder for the working poor to meet their basic needs in order to survive. Thereby, raising the minimum wage is not a feasible option because it will only deteriorate situations for the labor