The minimum wage has been changing and debated over since it was established in 1938. Many argue that minimum wage should be increased to compensate for rising inflation. Some activists also argue that one cannot make a living off minimum wage alone. Others claim that if the the minimum wage is increased, then corporations and other business will respond to their increase in expenses by laying off employees, and turning to technological advancements to replace the unskilled labor. There are many causes and effects of increasing the minimum wage that delve into the advantages and disadvantages it has on society (“Minimum Wage,” 2015).
There is a federal minimum wage, however, some state have chosen to increase their wage based on inflation.
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Clinton signed the H.R. 3448, the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996 into law to help the millions of Americans working the minimum wage and their families. The Act pushed up the minimum wage from $4.25 to $4.75 an hour and took effect October 1, 1996. Another increase followed this by adding an additional 40-cent up to $5.15 an hour on September 1, 1997.
Raising the minimum wage would benefit more than just teens working summer jobs. Only 14% minimum wage workers are teenagers; the other 86% that would benefit from a higher minimum wage are 20 or older. While 29 states do have a minimum wage already higher than the federal minimum wage, that leaves 21 states and 38 million workers who are not benefiting. Families would also benefit from a raise; 30% of minimum wage workers have children.
The majority of disadvantaged citizens work minimum wage jobs. For example, Target is goes out of its way to employ disabled citizens. Business that hire such workers actually receive government benefits for doing so. The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is a Federal tax credit available to employers for hiring individuals from certain target groups who have consistently faced significant barriers to employment (Work Opportunity Tax Credit). Not only does this program help the handicapped, but it also helps release criminal offenders obtain a job and start fresh. Raising the minimum wage would benefit these workers and help better their way of