Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Why we shouldn't raise minimum wage essay
Should the minimum wage be raised
Should the minimum wage be raised
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The topic of minimum wage is one that can lead to heated debates from both sides of the aisle over how much a person should be getting in payment versus how much work they do, or how hard they work to earn the payment. Countless people today are not getting paid the amount they should be based off of the work that they are putting in to their job. There are arguments leaning towards the raising of minimum wage, and there are arguments leaning against the raising of the minimum wage, however one of the arguments I find persuasive. There are some arguments that lean towards the raising of the minimum wage. The first argument presented involves job creation in the United States.
Should we raise the minimum wage? What are the pros and cons of raising the wages in the entry level job market? Ira Knight’s speech, “Let’s Make the Minimum Wage a Living Wage”, tells us of some of the pros of raising it. However, Janice Steele does a much better job proving why it would hurt us more than help us in her article, “Keep the Minimum Wage Where It Is”. To begin with, Ms. Steele shows us how raising the wage could hurt the workers that we are trying to help.
First, one main reason that the minimum wage should be raised is because the economy will prosper. “Economic Policy Institute stated that a minimum wage increase from the current rate of $7.25 an hour to $10.10 would inject $22.1 billion net into the economy and create about 85,000 new jobs over a three-year phase-in period” (ProCon). This quote shows that the economy will flourish from the increase of the minimum wage and that unemployment will decrease. Another quote that shows how raising the minimum wage will affect employment is “To the extent that through these contour effects it affords as much as 70 percent of the workforce greater purchasing power, it effectively increases aggregate demand for goods and services, which should ultimately lead to the creation of more jobs” (Challenger 19). Bryan Covert supports raising the minimum wage by
The American Action Forum believes that raising the minimum wage can do more harm than good and hurt the people it’s supposed to help. Job loss in the millions would happen if the wage was raised from $7.25 to $15. People in poverty before the increase would have trouble finding jobs because companies would have to have less positions to counter the wage raise. Komlos, John. " Column: Why Raising the Minimum Wage Is Good Economics."
According to the law of supply and demand, when a good goes up in price the demand for that item will decrease. In the labor market, labor is a economic good, when the price for labor goes up the demand will decrease. When setting a price floor, in which the price cannot dip below that rate, there will be a surplus of that good if the price floor is above the equilibrium price. The equilibrium price for low skilled labor in many areas is above the federal minimum wage, but in the areas that this is not true there have been large amounts of unemployment following dramatic increases in the minimum wage (Soergel). When a higher minimum wage is enacted the number of available jobs for low skilled workers will decrease.
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 State of New York and California have both passed legislation that will increase the minimum wage in both states to 15 dollars an hour. Although the minimum wage of both states will not immediately go into effect, the minimum wage will slowly works it's way up annually until reaching 15 dollars an hour. Bringing up the minimum wage will allow people working for at the minimum wage to afford the high cost of living in both states. The decision to bring up the minimum wage was met with divided opinions as Senators and Assembly members from both parties on opposing sides of one another. Ultimately, the pros of raising the minimum wage outweigh the cons astronomically.
I have researched and encountered a variety of different sources in which help determine the factors of a good economy in the United States. One factor, being that of our country’s federal minimum wage. This topic has proven to be a controversial issue in the United States. However, several authors have indeed provided me with the adequate information to sustain a good point. With a variety of articles, news, videos and maps, I can properly educate those who are in need of a higher minimum wage.
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.
Raise Minimum Wage Raising minimum wage has always had a debate amongst people. There has always been a controversy of doing so has or not, how ever there is always some advantages and disadvantages in such topics as such. According to some studies from 2013, research shows that raising minimum wage could in fact increase job growth and activity. This research was based on the wages of $7.25ph increasing to $10.10ph and if it was done so, it would point 22.1 billion dollars net into economy and produce 85,000 if not more jobs in a period of 3 years. Studies also show that raising minimum wage would reduce poverty, a $10.10 minimum wage could save up to 900,000 people out of poverty (Congressional Budget Office).
There are multiple reasons why the minimum wage shouldn’t increase from where it is at now. Firstly, raising the minimum wage won’t reduce the poverty level as so many people are mislead to believe. In the article “Raising the
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.
Although raising minimum wage would help stimulate the economic, there is a good chance that the prices of goods and services would also increase to meet the profit margin. Generally speaking, we will start to increase minimum wage again, and then continue to repeat this cycle numerous
Alexis Greco Professor Hall English 1010 29 October 2016 Should We Raise Minimum Wage? In Rex Huppke’s article, “In the Minimum Wage Debate, Both Sides Make Valid Points”, Huppke’s position on raising minimum wage started out as being for raising minimum wage. He states in the beginning of this article, “As I began this series of columns, my gut feeling was: RAISE IT!”.
When you raise minimum wage you raise the price in everything else for instance if minimum wage was raised ten percent that also raises restaurant prices 0.7 cents that may not sound like a lot but it starts adding up sooner or later and who knows then it could raises prices a whole dollar. Some people think that because the cities they live in are so expensive that minimum wage should be raised but if you live in an expensive city and are also living off minimum wage and can not afford it then you should not be living there. Also women think that they can not have a good lifestyle for their children with what minimum wage is paying. If you are living off minimum wage and trying to raise children then maybe you should find a different job where you can afford a life for your kids. Minimum wage should be raised because the economy is at a point where if minimum wage is raised there would not be a drastic change.