Raising Minimum Wage Essay

Money, it is arguably one of the most important things the modern world. With phrases like “money makes the world go around” it is understandable why people, especially minimum wage workers, are pushing for an increase in salary. With arguments for and against raising the minimum wage its’ often difficult to see the effects that it can have on an economy. On one side there are workers who are trying to raise families on $7.25-the current minimum wage. Many politicians and activists are fighting for increases in wages so that families can better support themselves and escape poverty (Minimum). However, other politicians and economists’ dispute that raising the minimum wage would decrease job opportunities for unskilled workers. By raising the minimum wage, it will force companies to make decisions about which workers are the most valuable due to their now limited funding. Employer’s verdict can result in less skilled workers losing their jobs, this shift in the job market can arguably ruin the current state of the economy and have a detrimental effect on employment. There are so many questions and uncertainty surrounding minimum wage that many economists have begun looking at ways to study past and present data to determine how the minimum wage affects an

Burkhauser and Joseph J, Sabia, from the Contampary Economic Policy journal also used numerical data in their paper “The Effectiveness of Minimum-Wage Increases in Reducing Poverty: Past, Present and Future” Burkhauser and Sabia citied that previous literature determined that there was a very weak linear relationship between wage increases and employment (Burkhauser 263). The two economists provided an explanation stating that in many low income families no one works. Thus, when wages increase, the unemployed are not affected. As a nation politicians most work to correct the problem of unemployment, however raising minimum wage will aid workers who are presently working and thus should be acted