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Minimum Wage Thesis

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Minimum Wage The minimum wage is known as the lowest wage a worker can be paid, according to rules set either by the local, state, or federal government. Since 1997, the minimum wage has been set as $7.25 per hour of work. However, this does not mean that some companies and/or businesses have been paying their workers more than what is set as the required pay. As simple as it may sound, the topic of minimum wage raises much controversy throughout the nation. Those in and out of the labor force argue that the minimum wage is not sustainable to live off of and may actually have more negative side effects on workers’ mental health. But, if the minimum wage were to be raised to the $15 per hour, or increased at all, that many laborers are arguing …show more content…

Many minimum wage jobs can be easily replaced by a simple robot, kiosk, or even basic computer. For example, garbage trucks used to have two men on it at all times. One man would drive, the other would get out, pick up the can, dump it, and hop back in. Nowadays, there is one garbage man per truck; just the driver… A lift was created on the truck so it could just pick up the can, dump it, and go. That simple add-on to the garbage truck eliminated the need for one worker per garbage truck eliminating half of the workers. And, since picking up trash does not take as long anymore due to the lift, they do not need as many workers as they used to have for that reason as well. If it is that easy to take half the jobs away from garbage men who do not make minimum wage, imagine how easy it would be to replace those who do make minimum wage with some kind of technology. The rise in minimum wage, big or small, will cause companies to begin to eliminate jobs for more reliable and consistent technology that is significantly less expensive than paying their workers at the newly set minimum wage. Technology is making it easy to eliminate jobs completely. Such as the garbage men, minimum wage paying companies cutting workers due to technology may lead to larger, more skill-based company jobs to be cut as well. They will see what these minimum wage companies can do and want to do just the same. “...technology has made it possible for employers to simply eliminate entire job categories previously filled by entry-level workers if government mandated make those workers too expensive to justify hiring” (Lovell, 2014). Many companies are worried about success… and if they can gain success by cutting jobs and replacing them with technology, they gladly will. Even if there is no rise in minimum wage, eventually many jobs will still be cut out by technology as we already see happening today; a rise in minimum wage

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646 Words | 3 Pages

In the article, “Minimum Wage Hikes Hurt Low-Income Workers,” Jame Sherk debates how an increase in the minimum wage would impact workers and corporations. Sherk builds his argument by first explaining the recent history of an increasing minimum wage and how much it has risen. Following, he argues why it would hurt businesses and low-income workers. Lastly, after illustrating the consequences, he offers statistical evidence to support his claim and to prove to the reader why the hike would only hurt both businesses and low-income workers. Sherk’s use of evidence and explanation offers a strong argument and a clear stance.

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896 Words | 4 Pages

It has been predicted by the standard model of competitive labor markets that higher minimum wage is likely to lead to loss of job among low-skilled employees (Meer and West 2015).

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1193 Words | 5 Pages

This relates directly to raising the minimum wage, because a majority of of minimum wage paying jobs are low skill. Berman points out that technology has people doing a lot of the work and that employees for many low skill jobs will simply not be needed anymore (41). There are many places in society today that people find themselves interacting with technology in place of an employee. Some of these situations include customers pumping their own gas and picking up their own boarding passes (“Wage Warriors” 41). Berman points out a recent example of technology becoming more prevalent in a particular restaurant chain in America.

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537 Words | 3 Pages

In conclusion, I found that those working a minimum wage job did not apply for the job because it was a desirable one, but because it gave them an opportunity to start small and work their way into a higher corporation. Although the stereotypes held about people working minimum wage jobs are bad, this study can show people that these workers are taking advantage of the opportunities available to them to

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799 Words | 4 Pages

Because of this legislation, unskilled workers are guaranteed a minimum standard of living (Gorman). This minimum standard of living is the least an individual/family can live on, still with a sense of communal comfort. Although minimum wage serves as a foundation for workers across the United States and throughout the world, this public policy does not guarantee individuals with jobs. Many economists are also arguing that minimum wage is no longer able to stimulate the economy and that the gap between low income and high income workers is becoming a larger, more dangerous trend. Furthermore, some economists are beginning to examine the effects of raising minimum wage to expand economic stability and security to various workers and stakeholders.

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878 Words | 4 Pages

They said that they are not able to raise their prices to afford this and cover their expenses. Also, they state that they have reduce the amount of the minimum wage employees or reduce their work hours which will effect both the owners and employees negatively. Furthermore, raising the minimum wage will effect economic negatively. The economists concluded that as a result of the wage increase, "many prices will increase, including those that lower-income households commonly face; wages will raise for those in minimum wage jobs that remain employed; employment opportunities for those at the bottom of the skills ladder will be diminished and employment growth will

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934 Words | 4 Pages

A report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics states, “58.5% of the United States workforce receives minimum wage,”(BLS 1061). A majority of these people being aged 15 to 24 years old. This age range shows these workers, in general, are mostly high school students and college students. These workers are largely very underskilled and lack any speciality in their occupations. High schoolers work mostly to pay for gas or their basic wants (while not always the case) while in comparison College students work to pay off incomprehensible student loans as well as rent.

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1347 Words | 6 Pages

Josh Ilyadzhanov English 10-2 Ms. Tunick Minimum Wage Essay Did you know that over forty five million Americans lived under the poverty lines just last year (Census bureau)? Minimum wage is the lowest wage permitted by law for any job in the United States of America, and was established in 1938 by the Fair Labor Standards Acts. Minimum wage started at an all time low $0.25 and over time has changed twenty two times. The current minimum wage in America is $7.25 per hour. Nowadays in America, poverty is at an all time high of 14.5%, which is atrocious for the economy.

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771 Words | 4 Pages

The issue of minimum wage The debate between the relationship of poverty and minimum wage has existed for many years, and yet there is not sufficient evidence that raising minimum wage will significantly reduce poverty among many people. Through the increase in minimum wage, who will benefit and who will be dragged down? It is easy to say that no one will benefit, and at the same time it is clearly evident that the intended workers, ones from poor families, will be dragged down first. Rather than helping the lives of poor people, increasing minimum wage will hurt them or leave them unaffected. One major reason behind the lack of relationship between poverty and minimum wage is that a small portion of minimum wage workers make up poor families.

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864 Words | 4 Pages

Many conclusions of research have stated that raising the minimum wage will unlikely ease poverty, while some states say that raising the minimum wage will help lower-skilled workers out of poverty. The minimum wage of the United States is $7.25 per hour. Most people start out with a minimum wage and eventually move to higher paying jobs in the future. Those who have minimum wage careers are usually mothers of young children, less educated, or live outside urban areas. Minimum wage increases have lead people to poverty, having a negative impact on society; therefore minimum wages should not be increased.

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1341 Words | 6 Pages

In popular narratives, it seems as though the fight for fifteen has scared Americans into thinking that raising the minimum wage would create job loss. The thing is that it just hasn’t happened. In major cities such Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco this is proven not to be the case. In Seattle specifically, the Income Inequality Advisory Committee has been gathering data about increases of the minimum wage all across the country. It has been concluded that there is no evidence of job loss, but an increase in employment levels in some areas.

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1235 Words | 5 Pages

However, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that increasing the minimum wage to around ten dollars hourly will cost the U.S.about 500,000 jobs (Syrios 1). The wage increase is often advertised as something to help those that are impoverished or struggling economically. However, the wage increases will make it so that firms won’t want to hire new people; they will utilize more automation verses paying new employees more money. The most effected group by this change is teens, where half of those paid by minimum wage jobs were those 25 years old or younger (Syrios 1). Most teens, who are usually low-skill workers, will be less often hired compared to those with more experience if they will be paid more money.

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530 Words | 3 Pages

Simply stated, economists generally separate about the tangible impact of raising the minimum wage. The whole idea behind a minimum wage is to ensure that workers obtain an adequate income for their efforts. The relationship between the minimum wage and subjective well being is, they argue a type of policy motivated research that can provide useful information for policymakers and the wider public (Diener and Tov 2012). By introducing the minimum wage poverty level may be reduced. According to Dube, Nadiu and Reich (2007), the implementation of minimum wage increased the bottom amount of salary for workers which in turn increased their income level and thus resulting in more spending ability.

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514 Words | 3 Pages

 Minimum wage is the minimum amount of compensation an employee must receive for performing labor. Equivalently, it is the price floor below which workers may not sell their labor.  In 1890s, several attempts to introduce minimum wage were made in Australia and Newzealand. This movement started in order to reduce the number of workplaces that employed manual workers at low wages and made them work under extremely poor and socially unacceptable conditions. Such workplaces were also known as “sweatshops” at that time.

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704 Words | 3 Pages

Many argue that an increase in minimum wage will help guide low skilled workers out of poverty and assist them into having a better career. That is not necessarily true, Many economists can agree that minimum wage jobs such as cashiers, host or a hostess are not jobs that meant to support a family. If anything by raising the minimum wage, it will put more people in poverty than guide them out of poverty. A raise in minimum wage will cause loss of jobs, an increase in the inflation rate, increase in

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