Analysis Of Persuasive Speech: Why The Minimum Wage

Specific Purpose: I want my audience to understand why the minimum wage must be raised.

Before people push a minimum wage increase, they need to be totally aware of all of the positive and negative results and consequences that might occur as a result. The issue concerning what to do about the minimum wage has served as an ongoing controversy amongst several people. The federal minimum wage should not be raised for several reasons including the harmful effect on small businesses, the increase of poverty, and the augmentation of competition for jobs.

Although America is known as the richest country in the world, 43 million of its citizens are in poverty. Unfortunately, some of them work full time, yet are still in poverty due to the low minimum wage (“Should We Raise”). In 1928, the first federal minimum wage of 25 cents per hour was set by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to prevent workers from being underpaid. Since 2009, the federal minimum wage has been $7.25 (Smith). The age old debate of whether or not to raise it is still going on in the US. The federal minimum wage should be increased to keep up with inflation, help support the poor, and stimulate the economy.

Specific Purpose: To convince my audience that the $15 Minimum Wage Bill is triggering more damage than rebuilding California’s economy.

A. Who here likes money? Who here would like to have some more? Even if you didn’t raise your hand, you would probably be lying to say you haven’t wanted cash at one point or another.

I decided to write about how I felt regarding the federal government's involvement in controlling the minimum wage and that I felt they are disconnected in their understanding of the impacts on communities when they raise the minimum wage. I work for a manufacturing company in the U.S. and I understand wholeheartedly what the impact of salary increases due to our bottom line. In very competitive markets the difference between success and failure can be separated by the difference of only a few dollars per part, and while in other countries, their manufacturing bottom line is subsidized by their governments we are forced to generate profits the old-fashioned way through supply and demand. This is why I decided to take a stance in my persuasive essay and challenge the status quo of the Department of Labor and Wages. No longer should the federal government dictate a national minimum wage but should allow each state to establish their own minimum wage based on the economic condition of their counties and their state, as a whole.

$7.25 equals two gallons of gas, one fast food meal, or a simple school supply. With the minimum wage at the current rate you must work one hour to earn the seven dollars and twenty-five cents that only supply you with small necessities for everyday living. This problem was encountered before and was resolved with the agreement to higher the minimum wage from $5.85 to the current $7.25. Although that was a big increase in salaries, was it truly enough? This controversy can lead to a major change in everyone’s everyday lives and boost our economy to a period of prosperity. The minimum wage should be increased to bring our economy out of a recession, bring families together,

Attention getter (teaser): How many of you believe we in the state of California should have a higher minimum wage? Well we shouldn’t and I’m going to tell you why.

Do you believe that all jobs that require little to no skill deserve more than the federal minimum wage? If you said yes then perhaps you are unaware of the many negative effects surrounding a higher minimum wage and after reading this you will be educated on why the minimum wage should not be raised. In the beginning, the minimum wage was created with good intentions. It was originally established in 1938 and was $.25 an hour (Sessions). It was created to make sure that businesses would not take advantage over workers. While the minimum wage was and still is a good concept, it has some flaws. The major issue is that the minimum wage continues to be raised. The main reason for the increasing of the minimum wage is because people who make

Humanity reaches unbelievable heights, discovers old civilizations, creates supersonic aircraft, launches every day new high tech gadgets, but fails to resist the challenge of the 21st century- the poverty. The U.S.A. has experienced crisis and prolonged period of economic instability which threatened first of all the economic security of individuals, families and whole communities. The minimum wage becomes a wealth inequality and economic segregation that endangers the ability to eat and remain healthy, have access to education and new opportunities. In these circumstances, replacing the minimum wage with a living wage will serve as a relief for the poor and will bring benefits to the local businesses and the economy as well.

Minimum wage has always been a controversial issue among policy makers and economists in the United States. Recently, the topic has become an increasingly hot debate whether it should be raised to help the minimum wage earners in America to make ends meet. The Seattle City Council has voted to gradually raise the minimum wage to a nation’s highest at $15 per hour starting from January 1, 2015(www.usatoday.com). While the state Washington already has the highest minimum wage among other states at $9.32/hour, and the average inflation rate in the United States in the last five years was 11%(www.bls.gov), it is very hard to comprehend why such move was taken by the Seattle City Council to raise the minimum wage by more than 60%. I believe that

It is truly a saddening sight to see men on the street in this day and age in cities everywhere both big and small begging for spare change with a cup and sign saying "Unemployed will work for food," and it is even sadder when the person is a woman with her children by her side. As of now, there are approximately 325 million people in America and of them, 1.7 million live off of minimum wage. 4.9% of those people are unemployed and .5% of them homeless. The number of jobs available are constantly shrinking, faster and faster and minimum wage is being less and less effective as a means for survival. To answer this problem, I propose a modest and efficient proposition. My proposition would be to abolish the minimum wage and reallocating pay elsewhere, or in simple terms remove minimum wage. There are many reasons to do so but the main reasons to remove the minimum wage are that it slows job growth and opportunities for jobs, it is not helping to curb poverty but worsen it, and it is hurting low-wage workers.

The minimum wage of the United States of America, should not be increased. The two arguments against the resolution are that an increased minimum wage would hurt American workers, and hurt American businesses.

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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.