Analysis Of Raising The Minimum Wage

To begin, there is an extensive debate over whether if the U.S were to raise minimum wage, could it really help the working poor of low income families. Nancy Cook, in her article from the National Journal, “Why a Minimum-Wage Hike Can’t Help the Poor”, she points out that two thirds of around 100 surveys from 2007 had a negative effect and that it does more for the middle class than the lower one. (p.14). So, therefore, from her

Ira Knight, who is an author of article “Let’s Make the Minimum Wage a Living Wage”, expresses an opinion that increasing the minimum wage would help all struggling workers and at the same time improve U.S economy. On the other side, Janice Steele in her article “Keep the Minimum Wage Where It Is” argues that raising the minimum wage would have bad effects on workers, consumers and small businesses. Ira Knight’s article seems to be the stronger of the two positions because her arguments are based on several recent studies, and last but not least, she had a personal experience with the minimum wage job.

A study by John Schmitt of the Center for Economic and Policy Research explores the other possible reasons a modest increase in the minimum wage may not significantly impact employment levels. According to his study instead of hiring less workers the labor markets can respond in

Raising the minimum wage sounds like a beneficial idea, but there are also a few surprising reasons why it might not be such a good plan after all. A common assumption among Americans is that raising the minimum wage equals an increased income, but, according to Joseph J. Sabia and Richard V. Burhkauser that may not be the case. They discovered that, “examining only employment effects, however, may mask full labor demand effects. Firms may respond to minimum wage hikes by (i) reducing both employment and average hours worked by employed workers or (ii) increasing hours of retained workers to compensate for reduced employment” (Couch and Wittenburg 2001; Neumark and Wascher 2007) (595). What, exactly, would be the point in

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.

Figure 7.6 shows how the minimum wage creates a price floor. The difference between the wage rate and the amount of workers needed is unemployment. Figure 7.7 shows the potential loss of labor demanded by businesses. This could become a positive statement to say that raising the minimum wage will increase unemployment. "Recent research reveals that, despite skeptics’ claims, raising the minimum wage does not cause job loss." (Cooper and Hall). An

It’s hard to talk about minimum wage without somebody saying that raising it will ruin the economy, but this is a myth, raising the minimum wage would benefit millions of American workers. according to a

A common misconception about base pay jobs is that they are primarily for teenagers and inexperienced workers, while numerous teenagers do work these positions, it appears as though that trend is slowly coming to an end. As time continues to go on more and more adults find themselves working at a minimum wage job. One thought associated with the possible increase of wages is that those in entry level jobs will lack the motivation to move up on the ladder. Generally, those workers only work there in order to make a living, so if they were given a better opportunity they would most likely take it. It is not often that a person is inclined to flip burgers for their entire life. This major conflict has resulted in heated debates and varying opinions, resulting in the question; should minimum wage be increased? The answer to that question is yes, with things such as inflation, the cost of living has greatly increased, it directly affects a lot of people such as college students, and it could help the economy more, rather than hurt it.

Minimum wage has been a touchy subject for decades, but especially in this election year, it is more profound than ever before. With candidates screaming at each other, it’s important for the citizens of America to know the facts about minimum wage along with the costs and benefits. Continue reading to discover the truth about wages in America.

Proponents of raising the minimum wage claim that if the minimum wage was raised, then many economic and social problems would be alleviated. This contention is at odds both with economic principles and years of creditable research. The effect of raising or even having a minimum wage has been studied extensively and the majority of studies have proven that raising a minimum wage does not have the desired effect. Both micro and macroeconomic forces affect the results of raising the minimum wage. The secondary effects of raising the minimum wage are bad both for

Sanders, the highly favored candidate for president, insists raising minimum wage is genuine and a pleasant idea. He claims that almost doubling minimum wage by 2020 will create better lives for everyone. Sanders infamous slogan, “no one who works 40 hours a week should be living in poverty,” has opened the eyes to many individuals in a positive light. I believe this is an idea lacking logical thinking. New flash, Raising minimum wage by such an amount will cause serious and a rather dangerous increase of inflation. Minimum wage at $15 an hour would require every other job to raise their prices as well, because who really wants someone working at Burger King making more than their degree required field? Raising ALL of these wages means prices

Per the Wage and hour Division, in April 1990 minimum wage was $3.80. Prior to that the first minimum was a mere $0.25 in October 1938. As the cost of living and families increased so didn’t the wages to support these expenses. Jumping forward to the next minimum wage increase was in July 2007 to $5.85. Ultimately in a mere decade we only went up $.70/hour. Yet, here we are in 2017 (again another 10 years later) and we want to increase it by $1.75 this year, then another $1.00 the next year (bringing the total to $10.00), and then by 2020 (three years away) to a grand total of $12.00 per hour (“Minimum Wage Increase, Question 4.(2016))”! We are a ‘get rich with minimal work’ society. I will admit that I am a woman that wants minimal work and

In 1938, the first national minimum wage laws in the United States were passed as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which served as “a floor below wages,” to reduce poverty and to ensure that economic growth is shared across the workforce. Today, many people who work for companies that pay at or near the minimum wage and remain near or below the poverty level rely on government health and food security and income programs to supplement their living expenses. Since 1938, there have been many additional policies to the Fair Labor Standards Act that have changed many things, such as increasing the national minimum wage numerous times to the currently salary level, which was set in 1997. The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, from the United States Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, was a policy to change the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 in three additions, which began in July of 2009. (U.S., 2009).

Contrary to these beliefs, I believe that raising the minimum wage will not only benefit the company and employee immensely, but overall increase the productivity of workers. The raising of the minimum wage will help these low income families support their families, which decreases the poverty level too.

Washuar and Neaumark’s study of the economic literature also found it “as largely solidifying the conventional view that minimum wages reduce employment among low-skilled workers” (qtd. in “Four Reasons”). A study conducted by Mark J. Hicks, the Director of the Center for Businesses and Economic Research and an associate professor at Ball State University, found that minimum wage increases on the state and the federal level, costed “roughly 550,000 fewer part-time jobs,” and “roughly 310,000 fewer teenagers working part-time” (qtd. in “Four