The first national minimum wage was not set until the year 1938 during the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. As a piece of the New Deal legislation, the Fair Labor Standards Act set new requirements regarding labor and wages. This act affected many things including setting a national minimum wage for the first time. Until this point, different groups had tried to set minimum wages but had failed. Courts generally found minimum wages unconstitutional against the ideal of liberty of contract. The minimum wage was initially set at $0.25 an hour and has only risen since then. (Fair Labor Standards Act or FLSA)
Minimum wage has been a hot political issue since its institution and it has often caused rifts in the political system. Currently,
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After fighting strongly with Congress to try and pass a bill to raise the national minimum wage, President Obama had to use the power of the executive order to try and persuade Congress and the states that a raise in the national minimum wage is a necessity. His speech before signing the order outlined some important specifications such as making sure only the most competent and honorable companies receive government contracts. There were many advantages to raising the wage such as increased economic stimulus and keeping up with inflation however there were also many disadvantages such as loss of jobs due to higher employment costs and eventual inflation. Like other attempts at raising the minimum wage in history, this legislation was met with great opposition, but it still was put into place. However, the difference about this raise is that it was enacted by executive order when most other increases in the national minimum wage are bills passed by Congress and approved by the President. It will be interesting as a new President takes office in the year 2016 to see if this executive order is modified or even completely revoked as a new President with possibly different ideals is voted into