Persuasive Essay: Raising The Minimum Wage

Raising the Minimum Wage In our economy the minimum wage is set so that people are not being underpaid for the work that they do for an employer. Currently the minimum wage is set at $7.25 an hour. Minimum wages are used in jobs like restaurants, production, and warehouses. The majority of the people who work these jobs are not teenagers but people of all ages that are trying to support their families. Without a minimum wage increase the amount of people living in poverty will continue to increase exponentially in the years to come. Minimum wage has been a political debate since minimum wage was enacted. The only thing that the government sees is the fear that raising the minimum wage would, in the long run hurt the economy. They also think that if we raise the minimum wage for the teenagers working small jobs then it will end up hurting other adults who hold other important jobs. This is untrue because it is not just teenagers that work these types of jobs. When people think of who the minimum wage effects most think of teenagers holding summer or part time jobs. This is stated in an article by the LA Times saying that “they are young people living with their parents” (LA Times). This is actually not the case. In an article from the New York times it says that “Their average age is 35; most work

According to an article in the New York Times this is an incorrect statement. This articles states “That economic conclusion dovetails with a recent comprehensive study, which found that minimum wage increases resulted in “strong earnings effects”—that is, higher pay— “and no employment effects”—that is, zero job loss” (New York Times). So multiple economists have studied to see if raising the minimum wage would decrease the amount of available jobs and found that it did not affect the job market at