Essay On Raising Minimum Wage

Thomas Perez, a politician and civil rights lawyer in the United States of Secretary of Labor mentions, “Raising the minimum wage isn't just pro-worker; it's pro-economic growth.” Minimum wage law was first passed in 1938 under the reign of President of Franklin D. Roosevelt, where the living wage was set at 0.25 cents per hour. In 2009, the federal government set the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour in the United States, but some states like Washington and Oregon set a higher minimum wage of $9.25 per hour and $9.47 per hour respectively. With the cost of living raising and expenses getting higher day by day, majority people are supporting the increase of minimum wage to satisfy their basic needs. Raising the minimum wage has unintended consequences as it stands as a threat to high school students, who would be tempted to settle for work rather than go to college. Fifty three percent of the minimum wage workers are in between the age group sixteen to twenty five, who happen to be students enrolled in colleges and universities. In some cases, it would

Raising the federal minimum wage would improve the living standards of people in poor families to some extent. George Miller, a Democratic representative states that “Income inequality is one of the greatest threats to America’s long term economic vitality, yet we are widening the inequality with wages that subject people to live in poverty” (Mantel). Although the federal minimum wage is set at $7.25 per hour, twenty one states in the United States have exceeded this range with Washington State having the highest minimum wage of $9.32 per hour; it causes wage inequality among the states. This in turn, induces the low-paid workers in other states to claim for a rise in minimum wage in their respective