$ 15 Research Paper

The minimum wage debate has been a hot topic over the past year, especially with the Presidential Election. This is a divisive topic that people rarely agree upon. There are essentially two sides you can take when it comes to this argument. Either people are for minimum wage or are against raising, or even having, a minimum wage. Proponents of the minimum wage are typically politicians who are lobbying for the vote of the people who feel that a minimum wage is critical to their wellbeing, and those who sympathize with people who earn “minimum wage”. Minimum wage is destroying America’s free market economy and someone needs to take action and find a better solution to this problem. Without anyone acting on this problem now, it can potentially be worse in the long run. Raising the minimum wage in the United States will do more harm than good to society because of the long-term effects.

Many Americans agree that Congress should raise the federal minimum wage, but do individuals truly know the effects of increasing the minimum wage to $15? Some people only look at the comprehensive view of seeking a higher salary, but the increase can cause many negative, as well as positive, effects. Several economists from across the country have done extensive research over the topic of the minimum wage increase, and many differing opinions have formed. The effects can vary from person to person depending on location and implementations that a business takes. Congress last raised the minimum wage to $7.25 in 2009; consequently, a rise to $15 would implement over a 100% increase in the minimum wage. A percentage this high has never

There is a lot of controversy over whether the minimum wage should be increased to 15$ an hour in all states. Proponents say that current wages in America are not livable because inflation is way higher than the current minimum wage; Minimum wage was 1.60 in 1968, which is equal to 11.60 today. Opponents say that many cannot afford this, will have to close down, make cuts, raise prices and lay off people because they will need to pay them more. Most economists believe that that high of an increase would hurt job growth. I believe that Increasing the minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour nationwide will do more harm than good. Raising the minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour nationwide is too big of a jump and would just cause businesses to cut off workers, force small businesses to close and increase inflation.

One of the most talked about subjects in the U.S economy is the topic of minimum wage. With president Obama’s increase in the minimum wage to 10.10$ per hour people, both economists and politicians alike, have been debating whether raising the bar is a smart idea. At a time when the country the country’s inflation continues to rise at a steady pace and Americans are constantly working to feed their families, some economists know that a raise in the minimum wage would help elevate some of the difficulty. The last time the federal minimum wage was raised was in July of 2009, where rose from 6.55$ to 7.25$. However, there are plenty of reasons as to why the wage should be raised. Some may not think it, but raising the

Raising minimum wage has been an ongoing issue for many years. Similar to every debatable issue, pros and cons are inevitable. In the United States, minimum wage started when the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) was passed and minimum wage started at 25 cents per hour. The purpose of setting a minimum wage is to set a maximum workweek and to eliminate child labor. It is defined to be the least amount of money employers are obligated to pay their employees by law. As the years passed, the minimum wage began to increase to accommodate the growing economy. Although the wage has increased from a mere 25 cents per hour to $7.25 over the course of 75 years, living expenses are much higher causing many people to be poverty stricken (Debate.org). President Obama proposes raising the minimum wage, so that it would help minimize the income gap in America. However, most business organizations and the Republicans oppose to the idea, saying that it could potentially lead to more economic problems. While both sides have valid points, which one provides a more compelling argument? In the United States, the minimum wage should be raised in every state; therefore workers can have a more comfortable standard of living, lower the poverty line, and minimize the income gap.

Which would raise it six dollars and twenty five cents. Which amounts to fifteen dollars an hour, which would equate for a full time worker to thirty one thousand dollars a year. A proponent of the minimum wage increase is Thomas Perez, who said “Workers are feeling like they have nothing left to lose” He works as an analyst for the National Employment Law Project, which aims at helping the working class of people. It ends by talking about Obama and his goal of raising the minimum wage to nine dollars an hour, as well as have it follow the consumer index so it would raise periodically Conversely in Arthur Brooks article he stipulates that President Obama neglects the poor. He reasons this by formulating research which he gives that says our current President only talks about the poor class on fourth of the time, while others such as former President Ronald Reagan talked about the poor in his speeches two thirds of the time. Looking at both these articles gives the notion that our President has agreed with raising the minimum wage. Although according to Brook's article he hasn't talked nearly as much about the poor class as other Presidents. It seems important to talk about this class of people since they will be the ones most affected by this social, and economic issue. Seeing the results of just talking about something you can see how effective it is in changing it. Without the

The minimum wage debate brings about a range of reactions from different people. There are those who believe that there shouldn’t even be a minimum wage and that wages should be determined by the markets. On the other hand, we have those who vigorously argue for increasing the wage minimum citing inflation, the poverty line and worker productivity. Regardless, we do have a federal minimum wage rate in the United States at $7.25 per hour, with some states having a higher minimum wage than the federal minimum. President Obama, in his first state of the union address of his second term proposed “Tonight, let’s declare that, in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty, and raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour” (The White House 2013). A year later, he has revised that number to $10.10 per hour after signing an executive order that has already raised the minimum wage for federal workers to that number. (The White House 2014). With more and more states raising their own minimum wage, a minimum wage increase seems almost imminent with Democrats and Republicans getting closer to a deal. (Bolton 2014). But we are more interested in the efficiency of a minimum wage implemented at the federal level. The main question that surrounds this debate is whether this price floor in labor markets is efficient given that the stated goal of the minimum wage is to make sure full-time workers earn a living wage and are above the poverty line.

The people were going crazy when they first heard President Obama proposal to raise the minimum wage hourly pay from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 an hour. These people think that they are going to get more money in their pockets with a higher hourly wage. These people are clueless. They do not know the consequences that come with raising the minimum wage. Many people that work a minimum wage paying job are teenagers and young men and women, but higher minimum wages would make it harder for these teenagers to find jobs because the employers would hire more skilled workers. Also, almost all minimum-wage jobs are entry-level jobs that provide unskilled workers the experience they need to become more successful in the future with their career. Another reason that raising the minimum wage is a bad idea is that it hurts small business owners. Small businesses are going to have to hire less people and create fewer jobs if the minimum wage is increased, because more the more money spent on wages means less money spent on materials and other expenses. Finally, the Earned Income Tax Credit already works to lift Americans out of poverty, so raising the minimum wage would be useless. Instead of raising the minimum wage, companies should teach the employees techniques to use that will increase their knowledge and allow them to succeed in the future.

The topic on whether the minimum wage should be increased our untouched has been a hot topic in the media and political scene lately. Both the republicans and democrats have spent some big bucks lobbying their insights on the matter. There has been a lot of subjective and objective arguments that are reasonable on both the pros and cons of increasing our national minimum wage. To add to the drama associated with this topic, President Obama endorsed a bill proposing a nearly 40% rise from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour. The President has been campaigning around the country ever since his State of the Union address, pushing congress to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. Many say this is too high due to the costs of enacting such an increase, and many say this is a little low due to the increased cost of living. After looking into both sides of this debate, I realize that overall it would be better for the well-being of our nation to increase the minimum wage due to the short term and long term costs that an increase of the minimum wage could lead to. In terms of helping out the lower class and poor citizens of the United States, increasing the minimum wage level is not the answer.

President Barack Obama claims that raising the minimum wage would allow for low wage workers to “make ends meet”. This would ensure that everyone has a fair economic opportunity despite what economic trials many face. President Obama was a firm believer in raising the minimum wage and how it would make a huge difference in the lives of families throughout the nation. The minimum wage rate that President Barack Obama would like to see now would be an increase from $7.25 per hour to $12.00. The substantial increase would allow for those with families who work jobs outside of the Federal government and private industry to be able to more comfortably provide for their families. Based on the bill proposed by Congress, President Obama would

In the 2014 State of the Union address, President Obama called on Congress to raise the national minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour, and soon after signed an Executive Order to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 for the individuals working on new federal service contracts. An increase in the minimum wage has been a topic of

The poverty levels in America are a major problem. The cost of things like rent and education have risen dramatically in the recent years, making it difficult not only to live, but also to become a skilled worker with a lot to offer companies. Unfortunately, minimum wage has not kept up with rapidly rising prices. People working on minimum wage cannot support themselves, much less a family. Many think that the problem can be easily solved with a raise in federal minimum wage, but those people fail to understand the many trade-offs that would accompany. Not only would a minimum wage raise to 15$ have a major effect on employers costs and the cost of goods, but it would also cause a major rise in unemployment(Gitis and Holtz-Eakin). A raise in minimum wage would not only fail to move the lower class out of poverty, but would have adverse effects on the majority of them.

The most prevalent and steadfast myth surrounding the raising of the federal minimum wage is that it will doom the economy. This might seem logical at first, but just think about it for a second. Why do minimum wage employees need more cash? The answer is simple: To spend it, to buy the things that they and their families need to survive. “Most minimum wage workers need this income to make ends meet and spend it quickly, boosting the economy. Research indicates that for every $1 added to the minimum wage, low-wage worker households spent an additional $2,800 the following year” (Fair). Furthermore, EPI estimates that if the federal minimum wage were raised to $10.10 an hour, it would result in over

The idea of having a federal minimum wage is a good one. The idea is to protect low and unskilled workers from discrimination and allow all workers to earn a living wage. The recent debate on the floor, though, is whether or not to raise the minimum wage from the current $7.25 per hour up to $10.10 per hour. President Barack Obama made this proposal during his annual State of the Union Address on January 28, and following this there were many hot debates about it. The debates focused not only on the advantages and the disadvantages of increasing the minimum wage, but also the alternatives to increasing it.

This is a true statement, but opposition says that this only drives up the standard of living and inflation rate in the world. Inflation is defined as the overall general upward price movement of goods and services in an economy. Although some people who earn the minimum wage are teenagers, almost two-thirds are adults. The average minimum wage worker brings home about half of his family's earnings. Increasing the minimum wage will help these workers to make up for lost ground due to inflation and it will help make work pay. Though inflation is one of the main problems in our economy and even though inflation and minimum wage are directly related, increasing minimum wage will give opportunity for a lot of lower class families to make enough to afford important things, such as insurance. If someone takes a trip to the doctor, with no insurance, they will most likely have to pay around eight- hundred dollars out of pocket. This would take anyone at least three months on minimum wage with two incomes to pay off these medical bills. Barak Obama’s plan to institute a health care plan for everyone will relieve a huge burden on people and also allow them to stay above the poverty line. Heidi Shierholz, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute says, “Jacking the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.25 would give a raise to 10 million workers, including many currently earning their state