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Should Minimum Wage Be Raised?

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In the 1800s, America went through the Industrial Revolution. A push for laws to protect workers erupted due to dangerous working conditions. Soon after in the 1890s, Australia and New Zealand became the first countries to mount national minimum wage laws. The United States set forth its minimum wage laws in 1938 (Grossman). These laws were passed by President Roosevelt in the Fair Labor Standards Act, which set a minimum wage of twenty five cents per hour and established a 44 hour workweek (Is federal minimum). The FLSA was signed because Roosevelt believed “all but the hopeless reactionary will agree that...government must have some some control over maximum hours, minimum wages.” Minimum wage is defined as the lowest hourly rate at which most employers may legally pay their workers. Raising the minimum wage has always been a controversial part of politics. One main question that politicians face is whether raising minimum wage helps the economy or not. Raising the minimum wage would help expand the economy because it puts more money in the hands of the consumer, it can reduce poverty rates and gets rid of income inequality as well. One reason that raising minimum wage would help the economy is that it gives a change in income. Generally, an increase in income increases the demand for goods at all prices. If a worker has more money due to a raise …show more content…

According to Arindrajit Dube, an economist, raising the minimum wage to $10.10 will lift almost five million people out of poverty (Covert). Right now, the poverty threshold for a four family household is $23,283 and a full time worker with a salary on minimum wage only makes $14,500 a year (2015 Poverty Guidelines). This means that if a single breadwinner is working in a household for minimum wage, that family is living in poverty. If minimum wage was raised, the income of a worker would exceed poverty

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The increase of minimum wage would be good because it will help low income people keep up with price inflation. 3.There is a essential need for the federal minimum wage to increase because not only the people will benefit from it, but the economy as well. 4. Companies who are able to pay higher minimum wage will benefit with increased productivity and customer satisfaction. 5.

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Minimum wage would raise the wages of many workers and increment benefits what disadvantaged workers. An estimated 6.9 million workers would receive an incrementation in their hourly wage if the minimum rage were raised to $10.15 by 2015. Due to the spill over effect the 10.5 million workers earning up to a dollar above minimum wage would withal be liable to benefit from an incrementation. Women are the most astronomically immense group of beneficiaries from a minimum wage increase. Sixty percent of workers who would benefit from an incrementation are women.

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The national minimum wage

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The federal minimum wage should be increased because raising it would increase the economic activity and spur job growth, decrease poverty, and also improvements in productivity and economic growth have outpaced increases in the minimum wage. Increases in job growth and economic activity will happen when the minimum wage is elevated. If the minimum wage was increased it will “inject 22.1 billion net into the economy and create about 85,000 new jobs over a three year period”. (“Raising the Federal minimum Wage to $10.10 Would Lift Wages for Millions and Provide a Modest Economic Boost") Thousands of new jobs will be created and it will put billions of dollars into the economy.

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Small Businesses could go out of business if we raised the minimum wage to a higher price. This is a widely debated subject of money, income, and the effect raising the minimum wage can have on businesses and the economy. Currently, the federal minimum wage is seven dollars and twenty-five cents and have been established that way since 2009. It has been said minimum wage should be increased to accommodate living expenses and travel time to places of work. The problem with raising minimum wage , that many people do not realize, is how it affects big and small businesses.

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566 Words | 3 Pages

Americans below the poverty line are demanding for increased pay in their minimum wage jobs. Although with the increase to fifteen dollars an hour, many Americans would be left jobless pushing them farther under the poverty line increasing the wage by over half would harm the country’s economy more than improve it. Minimum wage workers want higher wages for the work they provide, but inflation, unemployment, and businesses closing will only cause more issues for Americans. The disadvantage to raising the pay for minimum wage workers is inflation.

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1261 Words | 6 Pages

While a minimum wage hike would benefit millions of workers with higher earnings, it would also hurt millions of others who would lose earnings because they cannot attain or retain a job (Holtz-Eakin and Gitis). Higher federal minimum wage increases the cost to employers of producing good and services. Employers consequently produce fewer goods and services, so they hire fewer workers. A federal minimum wage increase raises the cost of low-wage workers relative to other inputs that employers use to produce goods and services, such as machines, technology, and more productive higher-wage workers (Congressional Budget Office). Estimates show that raising the federal minimum wage to $12 per hour by 2020 would affect 38.3 million low-wage workers and that raising the federal minimum wage would cost 3.8 million low-wage jobs (Holtz-Eakin and Gitis).

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The reason is because, “When the cost of hiring workers rises, however, businesses hire fewer workers. Some workers get a raise while others lose their jobs.” (“Raising Minimum Wage Increases Unemployment”) Economists believe that increasing minimum wage will increase the unemployment rate because if the cost of hiring workers raises, businesses are most likely to hire fewer employees to cut their costs. So, there will be higher unemployment rate and the nation will be in economic

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Congress enacted the first federal minimum wage 25 cents an hour. Some cities have higher minimum wage. If minimum wage was rashed employees would lay off or they would cut hours. Could have impacted on economy. Some teen in the job market are facing a very competitive environment and an increase in minimum wage would only make things worse The issue boils down to a law of physics that also applies to environmental.

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792 Words | 4 Pages

It found that a $10.10 minimum wage, implemented by 2016, would mean higher earnings for 16.5 million workers, resulting in $31 billion more in higher earnings. It would also lift nearly 1 million people out of poverty. But it also found that an increase would reduce jobs slightly. “Once fully implemented in the second half of 2016, the $10.10 option would reduce total employment by about 500,000 workers, or 0.3 percent,” it projects. That figure takes into account what it says would be a decrease in jobs for low-wage workers as well as an increase of “a few tens of thousands of jobs” for others thanks to higher demand.

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Modifying minimum is such a challenging topic because it could have an enormous effect on numerous of people in the United States. The United States minimum wage stands at 7.25 per hour. In order to decide what’s best for the country every citizen will have to understand the benefits and risks when raising or reducing minimum wage. Raising minimum wage comes with great risk. Studies have shown that increasing minimum wage will not benefit Americas but will do harm to them.

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Raising the wage would help in many ways. As the gap between the rich and the middle class increases, it is important to increase the minimum wage. Raising the minimum wage would be helpful for the economy. Seventy two percent of people want the minimum wage to increase

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607 Words | 3 Pages

An increase on minimum wage will hurt the economy and low-wage workers. Although the minimum wage is believed to bring many families out of poverty, according to the CBO, if the minimum wage rises, as much a s one million jobs will no longer be available to people. CBO uses a television ad to illustrate why an increase on minimum wage would not benefit the poor. In the ad, a waiter is replaced by an iPad.

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Minimum wage is the lowest an employer can pay its workers on an hourly basis. The federal government enacted the minimum wage laws but each state can have their own individual laws on minimum wage. The cost of living has gradually gone up and many families cannot keep up with it because of such low income they are receiving due to the low minimum wage laws that the federal and state government have in place. There are currently 13 states that have passed legislation that can change their minimum wage laws so it better helps the lower income individuals and out those 13 states, 9 have already increased their minimum wage (Job Growth Picks up in States That Raised Minimum Wage). Over the years, many workers have suffered from inflation and the cost of living has gone up

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2176 Words | 9 Pages

Introduction The minimum wage is the lowest amount of compensation an employee must receive for performing labour. It is a price floor below which the market price may not fall and to be effective has to be set above the equilibrium price. Minimum wages are established by contracts or legislation by government. It is therefore illegal to pay an employee less than the minimum wage. Supporters of minimum wage say it increases the standard of living, reduce poverty, reduce inequality and boost morale while the opponents say the exact opposite.

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