The Pros And Cons Of Raising Minimum Wage

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Should the federal minimum wage be raised? I don’t believe that the minimum wage should be raised at all, because it should be for people who have little to no skill set; not for people with a family who are trying to live off of it. Right now the federal minimum wage stands at $7.25 an hour, but some states have raised it to be higher; take Michigan for example. Michigan’s minimum wage is $8.15 (before taxes are deducted) an hour. Some states, depending on what it would be changed to, may not even see a difference. 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 …show more content…

The Service Employees International Union have been waging a “Fight for $15” campaign battle since 2012 (Gollom). If raising the minimum wage to a number such as $15 an hour, and seemed like it would have a positive outcome, it would have been changed by …show more content…

Many people are afraid that by raising the minimum wage it will hurt the poor, reduce other job benefits, and reduce competition. A 1997 National Bureau of Economic Research study estimated that the federal minimum-wage hike of 1996 and 1997 actually increased the number of poor families by 4.5 percent (Henderson). Employers respond to forced higher wages by adjusting other components of employee compensation, such as health insurance or other benefits. Although few minimum wage workers have employer-provided health insurance, employers have found other ways to adjust, such as cutting on-the-job training (Henderson). Gov. Schwarzenegger’s proposed a 15 percent increase in the state minimum wage would destroy about 35,000 to 70,000 unskilled jobs-putting 1.5 to 3 percent of young Californians out of work. Overall, the proposed minimum wage increase in California would eliminate about 70,000 to 140,000 jobs. And a 15 percent increase in minimum wage nationwide would destroy about 290,000 to 590,000 young people's jobs, and about 400,000 to 800,000 jobs overall

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