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minimum wage versus a living wage essay
minimum wage versus a living wage essay
minimum wage versus a living wage essay
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The Universal Living Wage
In 1906 Father John Ryan, a renowned social and economic intellectual within the Catholic Church, published a book titled A Living Wage: Its Ethical and Economic Aspects. The book introduced to America workers the idea of a guaranteed minimum pay determined by the basic costs of living and set the stage for later minimum wage legislation during the 1930’s. Over the last decade, the idea of a living wage has resurfaced as workers have become more outspoken about the inadequacies of the federal and state minimum wage levels. Living wage legislation for government workers has taken effect in major U.S. cities such as Baltimore, Los Angeles, San Jose, Detroit, Boston, and many more. This paper will discuss the moral, social, and economic implications of instituting these laws as well as labor conditions around the world and the need for guaranteed living wages in countries such as India and Mexico.
First of all, a clear definition of the living wage should be established. The Universal Living Wage Campaign Organization says that if a person works forty hours a week, a living wage should provide the worker and his/her dependents with proper nutrition, health care, housing, clothing, and transportation. Some debate has arisen around this definition though for a few reasons. First of all, the number of dependents the wage-earner must support has a huge impact on the calculation of the living wage. A wage-earner who only has to support himself can survive with a much lower wage than a wage-earner who must support a family of five for example, so how should legislation take this into account? If the idea of the living wage is to pay workers based on need, a law that provides a wage capable of supp...
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- Clean Clothes Campaign. < http://www.cleanclothes.org/campaign/liwa99-11-
3.htm>.
- “Universal Living Wage Effect on Business and Taxpayers”.
http://www.nationalhomeless.org/ulwwhitepaper.html
- Pritchard, Justin. “U.S. Study Concludes That 'Living Wage' Reduces Poverty”.
< http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0314-03.htm >. 2002
- Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras. “New Study: Mexicans Unable to Live
on Sweatshop Wages”. <http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=426>. 2001.
- CFO “Protecting the Rights of Maquiladora Workers”.
<http://cfomaquiladoras.org/english%20site/costovida.en.html>
- Pritchard, Justin. “Study: Living Wage Laws Work”.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/03/14/national/main503712.shtml
- http://www.epinet.org/issueguides/minwage/figure1.gif
The controversies surrounding slavery have been established in many societies worldwide for centuries. In past generations, although slavery did exists and was tolerated, it was certainly very questionable,” ethically“. Today, the morality of such an act would not only be unimaginable, but would also be morally wrong. As things change over the course of history we seek to not only explain why things happen, but as well to understand why they do. For this reason, we will look further into how slavery has evolved throughout History in American society, as well as the impacts that it has had.
Slavery was a dominant part of the political and social arenas of 1800’s America. However, it was not homogenous as it divided America into two distinct groups: those who supported it and those who did not. Traditionally, the states in the north had been anti-slavery while the states in the south had been pro-slavery. Southern life and economy depended on slavery and therefore staunchly supported the continued legal status of slavery. The northern states on the other hand recognized the inhumane nature of slavery and campaigned to establish equality for all citizens. In order to establish solid reasoning for their stance, both pro-slave and anti-slave groups turned to theological inspiration for their actions. The Bible inspired both pro-slavery advocates and anti-slavery abolitionists alike. Religion was used in order to justify slavery and also to condemn it.
In her article “Homosexuality Cannot Be Cured,” Casey Sanchez argues that reparative camps are damning the LGBT community. She profiles a former ex- gay minister John Smid. Smid was the founder of Love in Action (LIA). The majority of the clients of this camp were young men who came from religious families. These boys were being forced into these camps because their parents wanted them to learn that being gay was a sin and that it could cast a person out from their family, church, and home. Smid was struggling with his sexuality as well. Founding LIA gave Smid the platform he needed to treat young men his away. LIA is standing strong today, but Smid has left because he has found that there is no key evidence that anyone can turn from homosexual to heterosexual ( Sanchez).
Liberal feminism’s reliance on the legal system and the state to distribute and open up revenues of equal opportunities for women is ineffectual for MacKinnon, since it is still trying to operate within a framework that is inherently patriarchal. These institutions are incapable of enacting the necessary changes, as they themselves are constructed from a male perspective that perceives the inequality of women as the norm. As MacKinnon summarizes, the apparent absence of explicit laws enforcing gender inequalities is not due to a lack of negligence, but a lack of necessity. An unequal society will undoubtedly have laws that are unequal, even if it is not at first obvious. In other words, for women to be truly equal to men in law, they must first be equal in society. Liberal feminism seems to suggest opposite, as it believes that equality in general will be achieved once women possesses the same personal legal rights and political opportunities as men. This for MacKinnon, would be naïve (as a tool of the patriarchy cannot be used to change it) and ignorant of the more fundamental problem—that the domination of men over women is inescapable and permeates every sphere of society, and is so prevalent that inequalities are misconstrued and reconstructed as gender
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
The living wage movement is an economic reform movement that has become one of the most important public policy issues that has come up within the last 10 years. Although there is no single definition, it is often defined as an hourly salary that allows working families of four to have an income that is above the federal poverty line. This means that the livable wage laws often stipulate that hourly wages should be two to three times above the federal Mininum wage. However, unlike the Mininum wage, the living wage has so far only been enacted on the county and city level. Cities and counties enforce the living wage for companies that have contracts with their respective cities and counties, receive subsidies from their cities or counties, other economic benefits cities and counties provide to companies, and in some cases a livable wage is required for the tourist areas of the particular city. For cities and local governments, the livable wage is perceived as a measure to increase the welfare of the poor. However, like everything in life the livable wage creates its on costs that along with its benefits of increased wage to some low income earners.
Society has long since considered women the lessor gender and one of the most highly debated topics in society through the years has been that of women’s equality. The debates began over the meaning between a man and woman’s morality and a woman’s rights and obligations in society. After the 19th Amendment was sanctioned around 1920, the ball started rolling on women’s suffrage. Modern times have brought about the union of these causes, but due to the differences between the genetic makeup and socio demographics, the battle over women’s equality issue still continues to exist. While men have always held the covenant role of the dominant sex, it was only since the end of the 19th century that the movement for women’s equality and the entitlement of women have become more prevalent. “The general consensus at the time was that men were more capable of dealing with the competitive work world they now found themselves thrust into. Women, it was assumed, were unable to handle the pressures outside of the home. They couldn’t vote, were discourages from working, and were excluded from politics. Their duty to society was raising moral children, passing on the values that were unjustly thrust upon them as society began to modernize” (America’s Job Exchange, 2013). Although there have been many improvements in the changes of women’s equality towards the lives of women’s freedom and rights in society, some liberals believe that women have a journey to go before they receive total equality. After WWII, women continued to progress in there crusade towards receiving equality in many areas such as pay and education, discrimination in employment, reproductive rights and later was followed by not only white women but women from other nationalities ...
What is your prototypical poor person? When I think of poverty, a dirty individual on the side of a freeway or someone cramped on the side of a bridge comes to mind. Today, the poverty icon has dramatically changed. This individual is an overworked, single mother. She is someone who works numerous hours to survive and to meet the basic needs for her family; however, her job is not paying enough no matter how many hours she is working. As a young adult, I realize that work ethic is one of the most important characteristics of the United States of America. Studies have shown that our people are working harder and more years than people in any other country. The harder a person works, the more money they expect to obtain, but this is not the outcome for everyone. The economy is booming; however, there are many hardworking individuals who are still struggling to survive from their minimum income. The Living Wage movement was established to combat and help several low-wage workers in the 1990’s. This movement gave them
Anytime we hear the word “slavery”, we tend to think of the Southern United States during the Pre-Civil War era. What many people don’t know, is that this horrible act has occurred worldwide! The term “slavery” has many different definitions, and has occurred all throughout our world history. It wasn’t until the early 18th century that the thought of anti-slavery came about. Many economic, social, and technological forces have played a part in the decline of slavery around the globe.
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.
Living wages became a hot topic in 1994 when Baltimore, Maryland officials adopted a policy that required all companies that received public funds or worked on government contracts to pay a wage that would sufficiently provide for the basic needs of the people they employed. Living wages differ among cities since it is calculated by the cost of living in that area. The cost of living is based on available childcare, healthcare, housing, food, and transportation costs. According to www.responsiblewealth.org, (2005) in 2000, the living wage amounted to $17,050 a year for a family of four, or $8.20 per hour for a full-time, year around worker. Most studies show that the economical benefits of living wages, such as worker productivity and reduced turnover, are increasing, and I must agree with Neumark (2003) who explains that living wages overall can reduce poverty, and living wage laws are effective, but there is an obvious tradeoff that occurs with wage increases, specifically employment reductions for individuals with little or no skills. Issues such as these will be discussed in greater detail in this paper.
The term slave is defined as a person held in servitude as the chattel of another, or one that is completely passive to a dominating influence. The most well known cases of slavery occurred during the settling of the United States of America. From 1619 until July 1st 1928 slavery was allowed within our country. Slavery abolitionists attempted to end slavery, which at some point; they were successful at doing so. This paper will take the reader a lot of different directions, it will look at slavery in a legal aspect along the lines of the constitution and the thirteenth amendment, and it will also discuss how abolitionists tried to end slavery. This paper will also discuss how slaves were being taken away from their families and how their lives were affected after.
What is it like to live on minimum wage in America? It has never been fun, but it is
An abolition of the slave trade in Scotland in 1807 was largely influence by moral issues but political and economic factors also played an important role. The Enlightenment brought new ideas of thinking about humans as equals . Christian values caused the public to see the slave trade as immoral . Many Scots had already made a lot of money off the slave trade which may have caused them to be more open to the idea of the abolition of the slave trade . Revolutions in Haiti, America and France showed the government what could happen if they did not make changes to the slave trade . Morals were also used to prove that slavery was acceptable which shows that morals must have been important in people’s opinions of slavery at the time . All of these factors show that not only were morals and important factor in the abolition of slavery in Scotland, but so were political and economic factors.
The ‘Decline Thesis’ is of great importance as it outlines the various factors that could have led to the abolition of slavery. Overall, it also shows that economic factors played a greater role in the abolition process.