Should teens earn less than adults for doing the same job? This topic has been very controversial and many have been paranoid of it because of the unemployment that is happening lately. “Is It Fair to Pay Teens Less Than Adults” by Bob Battles and Marilyn Watkins is about a debate that contains two opposing views of whether teens should be equally or not equally paid as an adult. Each viewpoint is thoroughly explained why their side is the stronger argument. I think that teens and adults equally should be paid. Teens should be equally paid as an adult because, many of them work to help their family, save for college, and help themselves to build work experience. Many teens work to help their family. For example, teens such as Eddie work to help their parents even though they do not get paid for what he has earned. “Eddie Ramirez, 16, recalls summers when he worked in the tobacco fields. Contractors often take advantage of young workers, he says, recounting times when he wasn't paid what he earned. Yet for four years, he kept going back to help his mother pay the rent” (Potenza 1). They work in many dangerous places just to get some money to help their families out. “Although families may rely on this …show more content…
Teens work to help them gain work experience for jobs that they will take in the future. “Clark is a 16 year old who talks about how working experience can help teens like him to succeed in their career” (“Africa News Service” 1). Working experience can build a sense of confidence for teens . “Many teens talk about how having a chance to work makes them confident as a human being” (Scherer 1). Teens want work experience so they can improve in their weak points. “Bailey talks about how she was very shy, but until she started working she had become more open towards people” (2). Teens getting working experience and equally treated will help them be confident and grow up to be a good example of an
First of all, the writer seems to be afraid of future parents might give their children that from the early adulthood are encouraged to work and earn own money. On the one hand, it is implied to be really good as the children learn how to be self-disciplined, motivated to earn own money and to become a good team member when it is required doing a certain type of work together with other colleagues in a fast food sector, such as McDonald’s, for instance. In working process these children pick up a certain set of skills for relatively short period of time and they know how to use it and manage in a difficult situation, if any.
If a teen is performing the exact same tasks as an older employee, how is it fair to pay them differently? Therefore, no, I do not believe that it is right to pay teens less than adults. I agree with Marilyn Watkins, Policy Director, Economic Opportunity Institute that wages should not be based on age, but on ability and qualification. For example, as stated by Watkins, minimum wage should, at the least, be used for all employees. They should be paid the same, no matter their age, gender, or ethnicity. The pay scale should be based on the difficulty of the job, and not the person performing it. Additionally, Americans are already facing pay inequality, as women earn about $.78 for every $1.00 a male earns. America is supposed to be the country
Yes, I think it is fair teens get paid less than adults because there are lots of facts that explain how that is the better option. “You need experience to get hired, but unless you get hired, you can’t get experience” (Battles). This statement proves it is fair for teens to be paid less than adults because they don’t have the required skills yet. They have to start somewhere and that somewhere shouldn’t be the top. “Plus, your average teen doesn’t have the same kinds of skills that workers, say, in their 20s have” (Battles). That statement also supports that adults are more experienced and deserve to be paid more. The last point goes along with “studies have also found that students with part-time jobs are more likely to earn higher wages
It is not fair to pay teens less than adults. As Marilyn Watkins, the Policy Director at the Economic Opportunity Institute, puts it, “Why should a worker get paid less simply because he or she happens to be a teenager?” Teens will often use the money they earn from their job to help assist their families if times are tough, or they may use the money to help pay for college if their parents are unable to. Since 2006, the cost of college has increased dramatically, according to the College Board (Watkins 23). Also, if the wages for teens were lowered, companies would likely favor teens over other demographics of people, like seniors for example. “Employers might prefer to hire a rotating series of teens because it would be cheaper “(Watkins
Yes it is fair to pay teens less than adults in the work field. Teens are in sports and many extra-curricular activities after school. Students have a very busy life and often times, in a rush. Teens need to learn the importance of showing up to work on time, be professional, and reliable (Bob pg. 22). Adults only work outside of their home duties, so they can put more focus into working. Adults have the time to work longer hours and get more educated in their job. Adults can work harder and are able to put up with more stress, due to their experience as a worker. Teens are still learning to be professional and fully mature. Since teens are less experienced, they are not allowed by federal law to do some things (Bob pg. 22). Employers
Jobs won’t only support teens for the things they want, but it can help benefit for the things they need. The first things teens think of for their future are going to college and getting their first car. But, let’s say there’s a well educated thirteen-year-old, raised in a low-income family, who has plans on going to college.
After reading the arguments in, “Is It Fair to Pay Teens Less Than Adults?” it is evident that teens should be paid the same as adults. To begin, the author states, “Teens often need jobs as much as any other worker.” Everyone needs money. Money is one of the main things people use to live in this day and age. Money buys the main necessities such as food, water, clothing, and shelter, so even if someone is just a teenager, they may need to save up for later in their life. Next, the article says, “The health of the U.S. economy depends heavily on consumer spending, and teens spend more than $250 billion a year.” If teenagers didn’t have money to spend, the economy would be greatly affected. Decreases in prices could lead to an unstable economy,
Schlosser illuminates how companies use the inexperience of a youthful workforce for financial gains and control through an appeal to ethos. The industry’s priorities revolve around the idea of personal gain, “[t]eenagers have been the perfect candidates for these jobs, not only because they are less expensive to hire than adults, but also because their youthful inexperience makes them easier to control” (Schlosser 68). With inexperience comes lack of knowledge, therefore, teens do not necessarily know what they should be paid, making it easier for companies to pay them whatever they like. In doing this, companies are able to keep more money for themselves without worrying about giving raises to employees, giving them
Young adults worked as well, whether it to earn money for themselves, or their family.
In the article Teenagers’ Work Can Have Downsides”by Jerald G Bachman describe how teens who are in high school that have jobs developed poor academic performances “ they're more likely to be involved in a variety of problems ” Jerald began the “Monitoring the Future “ project that monitored teens in high school and from college who had jobs and discovered a drop in the high school teens academics and made connections between long hours and problems behaviors are symptoms of issue like poor adjustments to school and greater interest in short term gratification .They encouraged for student to follow what they call a sweet spot a job that requires relatively few hours per week during the school year fewer hours the better.Student that have
Lawmakers believe that lowering the minimum wage for teens to less than adults will help the unemployment of teenagers in the United States. However, I do not agree that this is fair. One reason is that teenagers have to save a lot of money for college. According to the College Board, average tuition at four-year public colleges and universities has increased by 40 percent – or nearly $3,000 – since 2006 (Watkins 23). With tuitions raising, teenagers should be given a higher wage to help pay for college. This does not even include everyday costs that they have and even buying a car. Next, this is discrimination at its finest. We shouldn’t pass laws that reinforce wage discrimination – especially when there’s little evidence to suggest that
Jobs are very time-consuming. If a teenager works and goes to school, he will probably not have time to join a gang or get into fights. Nowadays more and more employees are getting drug-tested at their jobs. If a teenager likes his job or needs to work, he will not do drugs because he will get fired. Furthermore, if a teenager receives a paycheck he will spend his earned money instead of stealing. A job can lead a teenager to a better lifestyle and a healthier life.
Nowadays, students love to have part-time jobs. Their parents approve it easily as they are said to gain experience from working. However, having a job is a big responsibility for a student. Before, teenagers at their age were working to help their family because of poverty. Nevertheless, they were actually eager to study and learn at school for their future. It was not the same as the teenagers nowadays where they are more likely competing to each other to have a job. Most of the
The best benefit from working is to have money, and it also gives you something to occupy your time. This lets them learn the value of the dollar and what it’s worth. They will learn how to get money, and how you have to work for it. They will start “understanding how to be smart about what they spend and knowing that money is earned, not granted.”(Ranae). Teenagers can start appreciating the value of money, and that it isn’t always easy to make a few dollars.
Money is an important component that can help ones to function properly in this society. However, money defines our self-worth and value in this society. For decades, unemployment has become a big issue in our community. The younger generation are the one who suffers the most from the crisis. In 2009 alone, 6.7 million youths joined the ranks of the unemployed, and compare this with an average annual increase of 191,000 in the 10 years before the crisis 1997 to 2007(Elder,2010). Youth unemployment is a crucial issue in our society. Unfortunately, a lot of young people are going through that situation. When it comes to find a job, young people are the less fortunate for many reasons. For instance, some employers might be biased on ages and believes that young people do not have skills or enough experiences to perform at the level required for the jobs. The problem of youth unemployment has many causes and consequences in our society. Youth unemployment can affect the economy, family relationship, increase crime rates and, mental health.