My first job ever, was a job as a cashier at Taco Bell making minimum wage. It was a very hectic faced paced job most of the time and the people who worked there ranged from all different ages and came from all kinds of different backgrounds. The people who worked there were also constantly changing and the main reason was that we only made minimum wage. At the time minimum wage seemed great to me, because I had never worked before so making any kind of money was awesome. All of these other people that I worked with did not seem to think as I did, they all thought that they deserved more money. There was one day that I worked that some of the employees were really excited because there was rumors going around that minimum wage could be raised …show more content…
Web. 09 Mar. 2015. Andy Puzder beings talking about how president Obama wants minimum wage to be raised to $10.10 an hour and how by doing this it would reduce the number of employment opportunities for people. Puzder then leads into the fact that there are about 6 million people who are currently unemployed and questions if this increase would reduce this number. Then, Puzder simply states no and goes on to show why using an example restaurant called CKE restaurants, which shows that the minimum wage workers pay would be well exceeding their actually contribution to the restaurant. Puzder then says that the government can impose these increases but that some companies will not be able to handle them because they do not make a big enough profit. If this increase were to happen Puzder says that business owners will start getting rid of employees and replace them with machines. If they don’t get machines, they will just increases prices, which will burden the low income consumers who the minimum wage increase was supposed to help. Puzder says the better solution would be to make more middle income jobs, so that people in minimum wage jobs can get into better pay. If the government does this Puzder says it would help if there was a smaller initial increase and then little increases over time. Puzder then talks about how a good majority of minimum wage workers are under the age of 24 and that only a small percentage are the breadwinners of their family, …show more content…
"The False Promise of Hiking Pay." Los Angeles Times. 21 Sep. 2014: A.22. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 02 Mar. 2015. Allen Sanderson begins by talking about how there are various states that are trying to get legislation passed to raise the minimum wage and that there is a lot of support for this. Then Sanderson goes on to talk about what’s not to like about this, since minimum wage workers would be able to take home extra money. Sanderson then questions weather it is right for the government to even intervene in this matter. Sanderson points out that the government is not involved in deciding corporations selling prices, but that the consumers and the market handle that and keep the prices fair, which leads him to say that those same things keep workers wages in check. Sanderson then brings up that people argue that raising minimum wage would benefit corporations, because it would attract better quality workers that would be more efficient. Sanderson proves that wrong by saying that if that were true then the corporations would have already done it and that most corporations pay their employees more than minimum wage because they have a higher contribution. Making there be required higher wages for employees who do not contribute as much would cause corporations to replace people with machines or to move elsewhere. Sanderson states that raising minimum wage is not the greatest way to bring hardworking people out of poverty, but that there are more
The minimum wage has always been a controversial subject that has more and more people debating about the subject. While the talk about minimum wages are highly popular it is an important subject to get informed about if you’re an employee or employer because it has to deal with your money. What is minimum wage? Minimum wage is the hourly wage an employer can pay an employee for his or her work. While the talk about raising the minimum wage has caused some attention in both negative and positive. Nevertheless, the topic that the minimum wage offers substantial benefits to low wage workers without any negative effects to business owners has a growing view among economists.
The minimum wage was, as it should be, a living wage, for working men and women ... who are attempting to provide for their families, feed and clothe their children, heat their homes, [and] pay their mortgages. The cost-of-living inflation adjustment since 1981 would put the minimum wage at $4.79 today, instead of the $4.25 it will reach on April 1, 1991. That is a measure of how far we have failed the test of fairness to the working poor.” (Burkhauser 1)
Imagine working under poor conditions for over 40 hours a week to afford basic human necessities only to remain nothing more than a cog in a corporal machine seen unworthy of livable wages. While this may seem unrealistic, it proves as reality for many lower class Americans. Minimum wage has seen a drastic decline in relation to the inflation of living costs, an issue addressed in Lew Prince’s, “The American Dream Needs a Fair Minimum Wage”. In the article, Prince, a business owner, states, “... in 1979, the minimum wage was $2.90 -- that would be $9.50, adjusted for inflation in 2014 dollars”. Even with this information, many americans above the poverty level line argue against an increase in wages. Although opinions often
Minimum wage is a topic that has been popping up since the 1980s. From whether we should lower it, or even raise it, but now in the 2000s minimum wage has been the center of attention more than ever. There are two sides to this topic of minimum wage; whether it creates more jobs or does not create jobs. Those who argue that raising minimum wage will create more jobs will have a rebuttal which is that it does not only cause the loss of jobs but that it would make things much worse and vice versa for those arguing raising minimum wage will cause loss of jobs. There will be two authors representing opposite views, Nicholas Johnson supporting minimum wage will not cost jobs with his article “ Evidence Shows Raising Minimum Wage Hasn’t Cost Jobs”
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
In an editorial written by Warren Buffett for the Wall Street Journal, according to S. Kumar in his article “America’s Workers Have Bigger Problems than the Minimum Wage” for Fortune Magazine, the problems that American workers face are far more than just attaining a livable wage. The three biggest problems that Americans face include the growing power of corporations, competition against technologies, and the growing income inequality that requires specialized skills where low-wage workers may not have education or capabilities to adapt. However, the minimum wage is still a serious problem, according to Roger Lowenstein. Lowenstein writes that the minimum wage does not provide a livable wage, which is a real problem when families are trying to survive on income that is too low even for an
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,
Minimum wage has been around for ages. Minimum wage employment was a temporary condition for people earning little payment until they moved on to a better paying job. These jobs helped build résumés, experiences, and skills for a better career. It has become the easiest way for people to receive easy pay. As years went on that idea began to demolish into a job that many families can get to survive and pay for their expenses. There have been many arguments going on, "Should minimum wage be raised or should it be lowered or eliminated altogether?" This action has its pros and cons. It can benefit many families as living cost has gone up, price for education is rising, and college students are in huge debts. It may increase poverty, but those
It is very difficult to live in America if you are living off of minimum wage, and many Americans are living off of it today. Raising minimum wages has its benefits like gaining more money to live better, but people do not see the down side of the increases in wages. With the increase in minimum wage, it also causes the cost of living to increase. How can this help the economy or help people? Minimum wages in America should not be increased because it will cause cost of living to increase, reduce employment, and cause businesses to lose money and workers.
The minimum wage being too low has been a public issue in America for generations. Basically, the debate includes two different opinions. Firstly, people who want to raise the minimum wage, and second, people who would rather is stay the same. The overwhelming majority of liberals are on the side that favors a raise. Additionally, a somewhat smaller proportion of conservatives favor the change as well, but for different reasons. The liberal opinion on raising the minimum wage is based on the idea that putting more money in the people’s pockets, will stimulate the economy, and decrease poverty. The problem that conservatives and liberals alike have with this, is that a few direct consequences are proven to apply when raising wages. Some proposed consequences include unemployment, inflation, and unfairness to higher educated people. Another main point is that raising the minimum wage is thought to helps small business by increasing worker satisfaction. This issue of minimum wage has become increasingly popular and important in current times, as president Obama has proposed the idea of raising the minimum wage of contract workers to 10.10$ per hour (about a 30% increase from the current 7.25$ per hour minimum wage). A large number of people consider this wage hike unnecessary due to the fact that today’s value of minimum is higher than it has ever been since the 80’s, and because the wage hike comes at too high of a cost. All things considered, the issue of raising minimum wage is not a battle of political parties and their agendas, its really a debate between everyone.
For many people in the United States, life is no more than a regular work cycle. Members of working class usually have a High School diploma and may work in a low skilled occupation or manual labor. Most of the enjoying age of this people is spent in working, as they don’t want their new once to have a life they struggling through. Therefore, this essay will argue that minimum wage should be increased federally to $15/hour by 2017. Firstly, if taxes touches the sky, why should the minimum wage be on the ground? Increasing minimum wages would also create new opportunities for education as the students wouldn’t have to work crazy hours. Likewise, many couples won’t have to work multiple jobs in order to manage the household. Lastly, it will lift
What would happen to your business if the minimum wage were drastically increased? Could you afford it? What impact would it have on those making more than minimum wage? The questions have been debated for sometime, but recently the debate has intensified because President Obama made a proposal to raise the minimum wage to $9 from its current status of $7.25. Bustamante’s article “$9 minimum wage sounds good but it would be bad public policy” focuses on the negative affects implementing a policy to raise the price floor on minimum wage would have on the United States. There are three key principles of economics that Bustamante touches on in the article, the first is people respond to incentives, the second is people face trade-offs, and finally a country’s standard of living depends on its ability to produce goods and services (Mankiw, 2012). After summarizing the article the goal is to identify the impact this policy will have on supply and demand, discuss the changes, and draw the supply and demand graph to detail the change.
The living wage is more and more being called a movement because the current federal minimum wage laws does not provide enough money for an individual that works a full time job to be able to support a family. Making them feel like they should not have to raise a family in poverty. Across the United States there are efforts to provide what is called living wages for workers which began with requiring all employers to pay at least the minimum wage to its workers that is equal to the living wage for the area (City/State) they are working in. The current minimum wage is set, depending on where you are living it can be up to several dollars short of what should be the living wage. The living wage movement is very active in full force forward
Many critics claim that that raising minimum wage increases unemployment, especially for unskilled workers, and harms small businesses, including grocery stores and restaurants. The argument declares that companies such as these rely mostly on unskilled workers for labor, and if the minimum wage increases, then their profits and, therefore, hiring would decline, creating a...
For the past three decades minimum wage has been seen to rise several times. Only helping some but more than anything harming most. So who are the ones feeling the effects? Certainly not the wealthy, it never is them, mainly it would be the working poor, unskilled and teenagers. Raising minimum wage would cripple the public even more than what it would actually help.