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The Pros And Cons Of Raising Minimum Wage

914 Words4 Pages

To Raise or Not to Raise Opinions surrounding the minimum wage divides America. Just like with any controversy, the opinions of Americans are not simple. Some think the minimum wage is fine at its current level. Some think the minimum wage should only be raised in certain case. Others believe the minimum wage should not be up to the government. Jack Quinn, Mike Castle, Steve LaTourette, and Connie Morella state in their article, “Raising the Minimum Wage is Common Sense,” that raising the minimum wage to match the cost of living is the route the government should take. On the contrary, in “Why I Don’t Think We Should Raise the Minimum Wage,” William Dunkelberg asserts that an increase is not common sense and would, in fact, cause more harm than good. In 2007, Congress modified the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 with the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007. This set in motion a sequence of raises in the minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $5.85 to $6.55 and a final raise in 2009 to $7.25 an hour (“History of Changes to the Minimum Wage Law”). In their article, Quinn, et al, point out that since 2009, the cost of living has gone up significantly. They report high percentage increases for everyday necessities, such as the twenty percent increase in groceries and the twenty-five percent increase in a gallon of gas. These …show more content…

He makes this point by saying, “A firm cannot be forced to pay more than the value a worker brings to the firm, no matter what wage the government sets. It will go out of business and NO jobs will be provided.” The only reason Dunkelberg feels a worker’s pay should go up is if the productivity rises. Higher productivity causes a worker’s value to go up meaning the worker should get paid more. This stance points to Dunkelberg’s ultimate opinion on the federal minimum wage. He feels businesses should get a say in the minimum

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2415 Words | 10 Pages

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Abstract In 1938 President Franklin Roosevelt signed into law The Fair Labor Standards Act, which among many things established a minimum wage; the law was created as a way to help the poorest in the US during the Great Depression. Then and now there are strong opinions on both sides of this issue, and without an automatic cost of living adjustment built into the law; any increase requires a bill passed by both houses of Congress and the President’s signature to make it law. In the following essay I will be analyzing two articles that outline both the for raising minimum wage side and the side that opposes raising it; by examining their claims, and the evidence that they use to support their claim of why raising the minimum wage is a good

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It is Hassett's opinion that a wage increase will in fact cause more of a problem and burden the economy greatly . Hassett, also states, it would be a mistake to raise the minimum wage, as it will have a reverse effect. It will cause higher unemployment as a reaction to companies closing sectors, and making present employees redundant. Also , he is of the belief , companies will not hire younger, unskilled labor because, with the increased wage it would become costly. I disagree with Hassett.

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