ipl-logo

Raising Minimum Wage Essay

559 Words3 Pages

Minimum wage was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 25, 1938 as a part of the Fair Labor Standards Act. This idea was introduced so the common man may support himself after the great depression ended. When minimum wage was placed in effect for businesses the standard hourly rate was just $0.25, the standard hourly rate is now $7.25. In today’s workforce, many believe the standard minimum wage should be raised to $15 an hour. The idea of increasing minimum wage does not appear to be bad, but there would be complications that follow. The government raising minimum wage would cause more harm than good. Walter E. Williams wrote an article regarding the issue of raising minimum wage. In Mr. Williams’s article he asks, “Here's my question to supporters of higher minimum wages: How compassionate is it to create legislation that destroys an earning opportunity?” What Mr. Williams is contemplating is by raising the standard minimum wage there creates no opportunity for the worker to increase their pay by hard work, the higher pay is already there. Mr. Williams has a valid …show more content…

For example, higher pay for employees that work hourly jobs such as fast food and grocery stores means the products those businesses sell would increase in order to compensate for the higher wages. The downfall and effect of higher standard minimum wage effects not only the hourly wage earner, but other working classes as well. For example, people in the workforce that go to college and earn a job based on their qualifications and then receive a salary. Those employees work and earn raises within their jobs during the time they are employed. When those same employees go to buy the products of businesses with increased minimum wages, they have to pay more because the product has increased in cost. This negative effect of higher minimum wages are spread throughout the working

Show More
Related

Pros And Cons Of Raising Minimum Wage

1278 Words | 6 Pages

“If businesses do not want to increase pay to all of their employees to counter the higher cost of wages, another possible outcome is that they simply cut employees or reduce benefits, such as paid vacations, reimbursed parking, or even gym memberships,” (Williams). Also, a minimum wage increase could damage a worker’s desire to work harder at what they do or to improve in their careers. Worker’s suddenly receiving more money than before might not want to go to college to seek a job suited for them. They could develop the mindset that working for $10 an hour at a fast

Read More

Arguments Against Raising Minimum Wage Essay

636 Words | 3 Pages

Many politicians, business owners, and citizens hold fast to the belief that heightening the salary attached to minimum wage positions will yield negative benefits for our society. This opinion is supported by three vital view-points. The first can be found in the news article, “The Argument Against Raising Minimum Wage.” It expresses how the enlargement of this payment will take a toll on employment. The document reasons that if the amount of money employees earn is expanded, companies will be less likely to hire as many workers (Huppke).

Read More

Raise Minimum Wage Essay

1341 Words | 6 Pages

This means more and more people are ending up on the street. With a raise in minimum wage people will be able to support themselves financially, and feed their families. A raise in the minimum wage will also stimulate the economy causing an

Read More

Federal Minimum Wage Essay

618 Words | 3 Pages

It has been nearly 14 years since the last increase in the federal minimum wage. To begin with, raising the minimum wage to match inflation and productivity would benefit the economy by increasing consumer activity and stimulating job growth while lowering the federal deficit. A journalist summarizes, “The federal

Read More

Should Minimum Wage Be Increased Essay

713 Words | 3 Pages

According to George Reisman, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Economics at Pepperdine University, “The higher wages are, the higher costs of production are. The higher costs of production are, the higher prices are. The higher prices are, the smaller the quantities of goods and services demanded and the number of workers employed in produced them.” (A.D. #1). If the minimum wage is increased, businesses will have to pay their workers more, forcing them to raise prices of products they sell, therefore making it more expensive for consumers to buy something.

Read More

Raising Minimum Wage Essay

579 Words | 3 Pages

Another result of raising the minimum wage would be that other products’ price would increase. This may not affect your higher class, or your minimum wage workers. Although this will affect your middle class, because their wages will not increase while all of the other products will. These statistics are just one example of this, “If the minimum wage were increased to $15 an hour, prices at fast food restaurants would rise by an estimated 4.3 percent, according to a new study. That would mean a McDonald’s Big Mac, which currently goes for $3.99, would cost about 17 cents more, or $4.16”

Read More

Raising Minimum Wage Essay

1964 Words | 8 Pages

Did you know the first federal minimum wage was introduced by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1938? Minimum wage was set at 25 cents an hour, which is equivalent to about $4 per hour in today’s money. Since FDR’s first federal minimum wage in 1938, the minimum wage has been raised 22 times by 12 different presidents. In 1968, minimum wage as a percentage of the poverty level was at 99%. In other words, someone working a minimum wage job full-time for one year would be just 1% under the poverty line.

Read More

Raising Minimum Wage Essay

806 Words | 4 Pages

A minimum wage increase would mean a decrease in the well-being of our citizens. Our well-being would be affected because raising the minimum wage would result in issues for businesses. It would also increase unemployment and affect the upward mobility of the working class. While people will be thinking that raising the minimum wage is great, it is actually catastrophic for the country. Raising the minimum wage will result in issues for the business owners of America.

Read More

Raising The Minimum Wage Essay

810 Words | 4 Pages

If the price of goods and services goes up across the board to make up for higher employee wages, it may not only negate the wage hike for low-income workers, but also unintentionally hurt middle-class Americans' pocketbooks, “If a company must increase the amount it pays its workers by several dollars, there is obviously a new expense that must either be absorbed by the company as the cost of using human labor or passed on to customers in the form of higher prices” (Pollick, Michael, and Harris). Employers might raise prices of their product in order to generate enough income to support their more highly paid minimum wage employees, which could ultimately create a ripple effect for other shops and industries, resulting in a slightly higher cost of living, resulting in another push to raise minimum wage again. Although a wage increase sounds good and it may increase workers morale, it could also harm their drive for self-advancement. This would further obstruct the chance of low-wage laborers to enhance their financial viewpoint,“Workers suddenly receiving $10 per hour might be less inclined to go to college or seek out a specialized job when they've seen their pay increase by 39% over the span of a few years” (Williams). This feeling of lack of concern is detrimental for the workers, as well as for employers who advantage from developing next to each other with their

Read More

Raising The Minimum Wage Essay

519 Words | 3 Pages

In turn, this will lower the amount of jobs available. In areas with higher living costs, a higher minimum wage can make sense (Johnson, 2016). However, in lower class areas, the potential for consequence is higher. However, it is still not extremely likely. If someone has a job, they are more likely to keep and benefit at the same time because of the increased wages.

Read More

Raising Minimum Wage Essay

1181 Words | 5 Pages

For many years, there has been a great debate on the topic of whether to raise the minimum wage. Despite all the dispute, the consensus is still up in the air. Some states have already agreed to enact this movement, while others remain stagnant. Many have tried to argue of the benefits and downfalls of it. After researching heavily on the issue, I have come to concur that a push for minimum wage increase will result in individuals no longer living below the poverty line, government aid decreasing, and consumer spending increasing.

Read More

Persuasive Essay On Minimum Wage

1012 Words | 5 Pages

The U.S. has done fine with a low minimum wage, there is room for improvement when it comes to economics, but raising the minimum wage is not the way to go. One of the first outcomes of

Read More

Persuasive Essay On Minimum Wage

1645 Words | 7 Pages

As prices rise, people obviously need more money to pay their bills and buy necessities. While those who are against increasing minimum wage would present their main argument as it could result in higher prices for consumers, it hurts low skilled workers, and it results in job loss (Slavov and Gorry). Minimum wages play a large role in today’s society as more than 3 million people work at or below minimum wage (Pathe). Many have started protests to get the minimum wage increased, some even want it to be increased to $15 per hour. President Elect Donald Trump believes that minimum wage should be increased to at least $10 per hour because that is the bare minimum that is needed for a feasible standard of living.

Read More

How Can Minimum Wage Be Disastrous For Americans

961 Words | 4 Pages

Minimum wage helpful or disastrous for Americans Did you know that millions of minimum wage workers cannot make enough money to be over or at the poverty line level and are actually a lot more below it instead? There have been many issues on the topic of increasing the minimum wage from ten to fifteen dollars because it can cause inexperienced workers having a tough time getting or looking for jobs, families not being able to live on the minimum wage the way it stands now, and businesses not being able to create more jobs to hire more workers. For instance, an author named David Neumark believes that the effects of the minimum wage have a major issue that increasing minimum wage can reduce the numbers of jobs and pretty much screw over workers

Read More

Essay On Increase In Minimum Wage

704 Words | 3 Pages

In the past three years, many politicians and labor unions have been pushing for an increase in minimum wage. Minimum wage is the lowest set wage by a law of a government body. An increase in minimum will benefit some people, and hurt others. An increase in minimum wage will cause benefit in the short run but will be very damaging to the economy in the long run. There should not be an increase in minimum wage because it is unhealthy to the economy in the long run and it will be the major cause of job loss, increase in inflation, competition, and the price level of goods and services.

Read More

More about Raising Minimum Wage Essay

Related Topics

Open Document