ipl-logo

Increasing Minimum Wage Essay

675 Words3 Pages

As we look at the world today, the dollar has much less buying power than it did years ago. When people look at just the basic necessities such as rent, food, car payment, and clothing, minimum wage just isn’t enough to survive on. Recently, Walmart increased their minimum wage to $9 per hour. In my opinion, this decision to increase their minimum wage was due to the supply and demand in the labor market. According to Forbes.com, even with this increase Walmart is still significantly lower than that of the retail sector as a whole with $11.81 compared with $14.65 broadly (Steil & Walker, 2015). With this information it is apparent that Walmart’s decision could be due to pressures from their competitors in the retail sector. Retail sector wages have risen dramatically over the past year: 2.8% (Steil & Walker, 2015). It is obvious with these statistics that Walmart has been forced to follow the path of the retail sector. Companies such as GAP and IKEA increased their minimum wage before Walmart made their decision to do so. If other companies within the …show more content…

For this reason, I believe that the government should raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. According to Short, roughly 11.9 million Americans receive some form of benefits from the government (Short, 2014). If organizations were required to pay more, the government would save money on the assistance programs that they have put in place. Just increasing minimum wage to $10.10 as proposed by the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2014, more than 1.7 million Americans would no longer rely on government assistance programs thus saving the government roughly $7.6 billion per year (Short, 2015). Increasing minimum wage would also allow people to have more money to spend, which would increase profits for businesses, thus resulting in economic growth. An increase in wages would allow people to at the very least be able to afford the basic necessities required to

Show More
Related
1094 Words | 5 Pages

First, one main reason that the minimum wage should be raised is because the economy will prosper. “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” (ProCon). This quote shows that the economy will flourish from the increase of the minimum wage and that unemployment will decrease. Another quote that shows how raising the minimum wage will affect employment is “To the extent that through these contour effects it affords as much as 70 percent of the workforce greater purchasing power, it effectively increases aggregate demand for goods and services, which should ultimately lead to the creation of more jobs” (Challenger 19). Bryan Covert supports raising the minimum wage by

Read More
1558 Words | 7 Pages

The Service Employees International Union have been waging a “Fight for $15” campaign battle since 2012 (Gollom). If raising the minimum wage to a number such as $15 an hour, and seemed like it would have a positive outcome, it would have been changed by

Read More
1026 Words | 5 Pages

Raising the minimum wage to $10.25 an hour is a touchy subject with virtually all individuals; fortunately, understand both the pro and con arguments is easy. Simply looking at it from an employee’s perspective, an increase is needed; trying to survive on only a 40 hour per week, minimum wage job would be near impossible. This yearly average is 8% below the 2015 federal poverty level for a single-parent family with a child (ProCon. Org). Looking at it from a business perspective, especially small businesses, some believe it could force a number of companies to close, due to the strain of the extra payroll; while driving other companies to lay off workers, cutback on hours, or not hire new employees in the future.

Read More
679 Words | 3 Pages

To begin with, the federal minimum wage should be raised because it would increase jobs and economic activity. Economists from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago believe that raising the minimum wage to $9 an hour would increase household spending by 48 million dollars. Increasing the amount of household spending would help the economy by injecting more money in the economy. In addition raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour would create 85,000 more jobs for the United States. Creating new jobs would help the economy because people would have more money to spend which would increase the economy.

Read More
1258 Words | 6 Pages

In fact: “Parents with two children working full time at the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour currently earn $4,700 below the poverty level.” (Olivia 1) Some family is a little better than that, they can feed their family, but it’s because that the children also going to work to help the family. No education, it will affect their future, but raising the worker’s wage will help, even just a little bit. Raising the wages can help these children to go to school, they might success in their life and they will benefit the country in the

Read More
999 Words | 4 Pages

Yes we would have to spend money to increase the minimum wage but you could look at is as a long term investment because the payoff will be worth in the end. The government puts a lot of money towards the funding of public assistance programs but if less people were enrolled into these programs because they could afford to buy food then that funding could go elsewhere. The government doesn’t want people to live off the system but some have no other choice because their living situation is so bad that whatever help they can get is much needed in their household. If most people were able to make more money, then all of this stuff can be avoided in the first place if the government is willing to put the time and effort to pass a law regarding the minimum wage. And they also have to understand that many people don’t like getting help from the government because they’re ashamed and it’s a thing of pride for a man to work hard in order to support his wife and children.

Read More
1503 Words | 7 Pages

Companies survive on profitability. If a business is forced to increase the minimum wage they pay their employees, the company would need to make cuts in order to compensate for the loss of profit. Of course they can sacrifice material things to contribute to the mass money needed to pay these new wages, but the only people who

Read More
628 Words | 3 Pages

As a result, rent and support does not seem that huge of an issue. Furthermore, raising the minimum wage will create a deadweight loss on the labor market. As

Read More
571 Words | 3 Pages

In 1970, the minimum wage was only $1.60, but this fit along with the price of the economy. Now, there is talk about raising the minimum wage to a whopping $15.00 an hour. While many Americans believe this to be an insane amount, others believe it is accurate and will help the United States in a way different than anything else. Raising the minimum wage amount will increase the quality of life, strengthen the economy, and change the poverty percentage. The minimum wage was established in 1938 as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Read More
551 Words | 3 Pages

Minimum wage is set so that it forces businesses to have a lowest hourly pay and no one is cheated out of their money. Right now it is a hot topic in San Diego as well as Seattle because it is so expensive to live their, that people are not even getting by with the minimum wage now. It affects many residents in San Diego and Seattle because they have many retail and fast food franchises and their lives could be changed dramatically if these businesses choose to raise their wages. San Diego has just raised their wage from eight dollars to nine dollars and they are still thinking about raising it to ten dollars in two thousand sixteen. Also the city of Seattle has changed their minimum wage to fifteen dollars, which is the nation's highest.

Read More
607 Words | 3 Pages

In general minimum wage should not be raised, since are other factors that minimum wage to not be increased. To begin with, if the federal minimum wage were to increase, we would have to declare that the financial ability to buy products and services would be decreasing and the value of the dollar would increase. This also means that the standard of living would increase drastically, since the imposed taxes

Read More
1057 Words | 5 Pages

If we raise the minimum wage jobs will be lost which would lead to a lower overall quality of life for disadvantaged people. (Freeman, 1996) We Do Need a Minimum Wage Although there does need to be some type of minimum wage at the federal level to ensure employees get paid something, it cannot be as high as $15 dollars an hour. If the actual minimum wage (also called the nominal minimum wage) is at or below

Read More
711 Words | 3 Pages

Since the Great Depression, there has been a minimum wage in America, but this minimum wage has changed 22 times since the Great Deprnbession. Many people say minimum wage should stay at $7.25 like it has been since 2009. Meanwhile, other people believe that minimum wage should be $15.00 so they can have more money to live comfortably. People think that a higher minimum wage will help, but it will hurt more people than it will help. If America makes the minimum wage $9.00, people will no longer be in poverty and it will make the economy balance out.

Read More
505 Words | 3 Pages

A brilliant eighteenth-century Scottish political economist Adam Smith said, “A man must always live by his work, and his wages must at least be sufficient to maintain him. They must even upon most occasions be somewhat more; otherwise it would be impossible for him to bring up a family.” In United States of America, there are 3.8 million people who are working at minimum wage. If we increase minimum wage to 15 dollars then not only all those workers will get benefit from it but also our economy will get better also.

Read More
656 Words | 3 Pages

The Current Minimum Wage is Too Low Increasing the minimum wage has been an issue that the government has not addressed since they increased it in 2009 (Procon.org). It has been 8 years since they have increased the minimum wage and year after year we, the people, ask to increase it. Increasing the minimum wage will impact many people in a positive way. The minimum wage should be increased because it will help get people out of poverty, improve school attendance , and make sure that minimum wage has kept up with inflation. Increasing minimum wage will get people out of poverty.

Read More

More about Increasing Minimum Wage Essay

Related Topics

Open Document