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Oregon Minimum Wage Law: Pros And Cons

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The proposal for the new Oregon minimum wage law to take effect is unique compared to any other, specifically because Oregon plans to have three different minimum wage rates depending on the state of Oregon. For example: Portland metro will have a minimum wage rate of $15.45 per hour, the area marked standard (consists of the smaller cities but not the rural areas) have a minimum wage rate of $14.20 per hour, and the area marked non-urban will have a minimum wage rate of $13.20 per hour. This seems like a good idea, considering that Oregon is one of the less populous states in America. But, after weighing out the pros and cons, it seems like this proposal to raise the minimum wage in this new way will have some disadvantages, but I believe …show more content…

Price controls are used to stifle trade; minimum wages are one of the most commonly used forms of price control globally (Common Sense Economics). The minimum wage is used to create a price floor to push the hourly wages of workers above the market levels. Up until now, states have maintained one main minimum wage, giving each state its own market levels. The issue with giving Oregon three different minimum wage rates is that it creates three different market levels for each section of Oregon. This is an unlikely case, but Oregon could also maintain one main market level state-wide, but that would cause issues as Oregon would have to determine how to set one market level according to either the highest minimum wage, the lowest, or a median wage of all …show more content…

Consumers from the Portland Metro area may also expand their horizons to the lower minimum wage areas and start buying their products from those areas because of the cheaper prices. This brings more money and cash flow to the Oregon economy that is less populated and less lucrative. Additionally, those living in the higher minimum wage areas might find it more cost-effective to move to areas with lower minimum wage rates because the cost of housing is also likely to be cheaper in the less populated areas. The varied levels of minimum wage rates in Oregon may prove to be more beneficial for the overall economy of

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One of the cons to increasing the minimum wage is that it helps larger corporations and hurts smaller businesses, therefore, competition is decreased. The bigger companies use raising wages acts as a barrier to entry to new business entering the market and create a monopoly for larger companies who have more profits to afford the increase. An example of this is Wal-Mart, who can afford to pay employees nine dollars and twenty cents an hour but a little store such as Meijer 's who does not make as much profit would limit their hiring of new employees and would cut hours to compensate. A family store might decide that the cost of entering the market is too high to endure as they build up their clientele and develop their business they decide not

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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

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The current federal minimum wage is set at seven dollars and twenty-five cents. Many workers across the country are complaining that the purchasing power of the minimum wage is currently low, meaning one cannot buy as much while living off of the minimum wage. Moreover, citizens are work full time, while earning the minimum wage, are living, on average, several thousand dollars below the poverty line. However, an increase in the federal minimum wage may do more harm than good. It is likely that an immediate increase in the federal minimum wage will lead to an increase in high school drop outs, a large cut in the workforce, mass amounts of inflation, as well as a large amount of jobs being outsourced.

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Raising the minimum wage has been one of the biggest debates during the 21st century. One side of the spectrum argues that raising it will make it so they have a living wage, while the other argues that raising it will hurt the economy. Whichever the case is, people are clearly divided on this issue. Before Oregon passed the 15 dollar minimum wage law, people wrote arguments to try to either prevent or pass this law. The article, “How a $15 minimum wage would affect a real business: Guest opinion” by Lee Spector argues that raising the minimum wage would hurt small businesses like the one he earns.

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The people who are against the increase of minimum wage often argues that it will harm young adolescents the most, and that they will need the experience of working at the minimum wage. It is significantly unfair with other states, such as California and Massachusetts. The minimum wage for these states gives other states a disadvantage in the economy. I feel that every state should have the same price range of minimum wage just to make every state feel that they are equally the same without any disadvantages. Raising the minimum wage is something that should’ve been done a long time ago.

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Considering its role in setting remuneration standards, the minimum wage affects other factors of employment such as the availability of jobs and the citizens' purchasing ability. Therefore, it causes a decrease in employment to some extent and enhances the household, individual, and family income. The primary role of the federal minimum wage is to ensure that workers are not underpaid and that they are not exploited by their employees (Manzo, & Bruno, 2014). Actually, the determination of the

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Minimum Wage Laws in America As cost of living continues to rise across the United States, America’s minimum wage remains the same. With a gallon of milk closing around four dollars and federal minimum wage at $7.25, one can understand how the minimum wage can be troublesome for our working class Americans. States such as California, New York, and New Jersey have some of the highest food and rental cost in the country. We must find the right balance and compensate for inflation, otherwise our lower class citizens will keep on struggling to support their families and themselves.

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“The push by two of the nation’s four most populous states will widen a debate about the benefits and risks of elevated minimum wages…” California and New York want to raise the minimum wage first than all the other states. Being the two states with the most population, people will have a lot to say. They will either be for or against raising the minimum

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“The current state of research on this employment question, however, finds that minimum wage increases do not produce significant job losses. This then raises an important policy question: Why haven't there been significant job losses when minimum wages have increased?” (Wicks-Lim par. 6). In 2013, the minimum wage in Seattle was increased to $15 per hour. The city adopted the new policy and the local economy has been growing at a healthy pace since.

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Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Hilary Clinton have both embraced a 15 dollar minimum wage hike and interestingly enough, in a recent interview Donald Trump said that he cannot believe how “anyone could live with 7.25 an hour” and believes the states should take it upon themselves to increase the wage locally. It would be truly remarkable if one individual could live in Los Angeles (or Long Beach for that matter) with the current minimum wage of 10 dollars without having to share living expenses with others in the same household, or working multiple jobs. Nevertheless, with current economic conditions around the world it is hard for California and the United States to compete in low wage paying jobs that do not require much skills. In light of this fact I feel that the purpose of the minimum wage (which was established back in the great depression and had the goal of creating a minimum standard of living where all workers health and wellbeing was protected) should change to meet the demands and reality of our changing economic environment. Instead of being a labor price that psychologically gives individuals the liberty to buy a house, car, and some leisure, as many families think (especially as they mistakenly reflect back on the 1950’s) it should reflect the condition of the economy as a whole,

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1512 Words | 7 Pages

Many citizens of California would naturally think about prices of products when they hear that the minimum wage will increase. An online article, by PewResearchCenter, says that “..Since it was last raised in 2009, to the current $7.25 per hour, the federal minimum has lost about 8.1% of its purchasing power to inflation”. Even though this was news a few years back, it still shows the effects of having a raise in minimum wage. It shows that 8.1% being purchased have been increased into products. There will be no point in raising the minimum wage if the price of products goes up.

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