America: The land of opportunity. What comes to mind when you hear “the American dream?” For most, saying “would you like fries with that?” while only being paid $7.25 per hour is probably not the first thing that comes to mind. The minimum wage was first implemented in 1938 by President Franklin Roosevelt. The purpose of putting minimum wage into effect was to stimulate the economy and keep working American citizens out of poverty. Minimum wage has been around for 78 years now, yet there is still poverty. Over the course of these 78 years, the minimum wage has been increased an extraneous number of times, yet there is still poverty. Is the minimum wage really to blame for the high amounts of poverty in America? Some say that raising …show more content…
According to the Pew Research Center, 16-24 year olds make up over 50% of minimum wage earners. Minimum wage is usually paid to new and less-skilled workers, so if employers are required to pay more money to their employees, they will want to hire higher-skilled workers with more experience and specific qualities, which most high school and early college students will not possess, excluding them from work opportunities. As a teenager, there are many expensive costs that will shortly need to be paid in my life. These costs may include a car, insurance, college tuition, and housing after I am moved out of my parents’ house. Being in a middle-income family, my parents do not have hundreds of thousands of dollars waiting in a savings account for me when I graduate high school. I will need to work many hours and make a lot of money to save myself from being swamped with debt in college and beyond. If employers are looking for applicants with skills that I have not yet acquired due to my lack of experience, it will be nearly impossible for me to obtain a job. Without a job, I will have no way make an income, therefore, setting me on a path to extraneous debt and unfavorable living conditions. Raising minimum wage will not do the up-and-coming generation of America any