Analysis: The Biglyist Modest Proposal

For centuries, there has been a common relationship between employers and employees. Over the course of that time, the workplace and the jobs within it have evolved as new jobs were created, ways to execute tasks became more advanced and laws were enacted to put into place fair employment for those in the workforce. In 1938, congress would pass and President Roosevelt would sign the Wages and Hours Bill, more commonly known as the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA). This federal statute introduced a 44 hour, seven day work week, established the national minimum wage, guaranteed overtime pay in specific types of jobs at a rate of “time and a half”, and it defines oppressive child labor, which prohibits most employment of minors. The FLSA applies to those employees engaged in interstate commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, unless the employer can claim an exemption from coverage.

Illegal immigration has plagued the United States since immigration laws were created, and has worsened in recent history. Since Ronald Reagan’s Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 provided amnesty for 3 million illegal aliens in exchange for increased border security, millions of people have entered the country illegally. Over the past 30 years, the illegal immigrant population of the country has more than doubled from 5 million in 1986 to over 11.5 million in 2015. It has become one of the most controversial political issues in America. While not every undocumented alien is a bad or dangerous person, illegal immigrants in general are a national security threat, harmful to the economy, and a burden on the social welfare system. The best solution to the illegal alien problem is to secure and enforce the border, purge American territory of every person unlawfully trespassing upon it, and reform the immigration system to make it easier for foreigners to enter the United States legally like people have done for centuries.

The first federal minimum wage mandated by the government was in 1938. When the first minimum wage became law in 1938, it was set at just 25 cents. Today, the federal minimum wage mandated by the government is set at $7.25 an hour. “Many states have their own set minimum wages, which are currently above $7.25 per hour already. Currently, 29 states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) have minimum wages above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. D.C. 's new wage of $10.50 an hour makes it the first jurisdiction to cross the $10 threshold among the states,” (Halvorson). The last time that the federal minimum wage mandated by the government was changed was over 8 years ago. “The last time Congress voted to raise the minimum wage to its current rate of $7.25 an hour was on May 24, 2007. Since then, the cost of life 's essentials has shot up. Groceries cost 20% more, a gallon of gas costs 25% more, and average tuition at a community college increased 44%. But the minimum wage remains at

According to Jens Krogstad and Jeffrey Passel, senior demographers at the Pew Research Center, there were 11 million illegal (undocumented) immigrants living in the US in 2014 of 320 million and that number is growing by 700,000 a year.

The immigration patterns of the United States have fluctuated over the years, some years having little while others see a rising amount of immigrants, both legal and illegal, looking for opportunities to improve their lives. The amount of illegal immigration is a problem since many take advantage of the social services provided by the government without contributing towards the country since they are not citizens and many people see these illegal immigrants as a threat to their employment. Illegal immigrants do affect the U.S negatively in a number of ways, but if those illegal immigrants were to have a safe passageway towards gaining citizenship, the immigrants would contribute greatly towards the

Home Land security statistics on immigration verifies that there are approximately 11 million illegal immigrants who reside in the United States. In Arizona, there is an estimate of 460,000

Minimum wage should be raised to help these workers to a better living conditions, but fifteen dollars maybe too excessive for the market to bear. One

In 2013, there were an estimated 41.3 million immigrants living in the United States. (Krogstad, 2014). According to present estimates, this foreign-born population consists of 18.6 million naturalized US citizens and 22.1 million noncitizens (Cenato, 2013). Among the noncitizens, approximately 13.3 million are permanent legal residents, while 11.3 million (28%) are unauthorized migrants. (Cenato, 2013). The majority of unauthorized immigrants are primarily from Mexico and other Latin American countries, they live Texas, Florida, California, New York and Arizona (Zong et. al 2015).

Employers are required to pay at least one and one-half times an employee’s regulation rate of pay for each hour worked in excess of forty in a workweek according to the FLSA. While there are no limit on amount of hours employees can work, however, the FLSA limits the amount of hours that minors could work. The FLSA does however require employers a financial incentive to limit overtime because those hours of work must be compensated at a premium (Walsh, 2013). The FLSA does, however, exempt certain categories of “white collar” workers—including certain executive, administrative, and professional employees—from its minimum wage and overtime requirements (Bloom & Dellatore, 2015). This regulation or rule has not been changed for well over 40 years, with a few adjustments that was made by then President Bush in 2004.

By law all workers should also not work for more than 48 hours a week on average over 17 weeks. This does not apply to workers under 18. They should not work for more than 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week.

In this globalization era, as various countries see growth in their economy, there has also been significant differences in the wages set to employees in different countries. The lowest wages set by the law that are fixed to a particular amount which is also defined to be the price floor below which workers shall not sell their labor, has its own effects. The minimum wage law came into force as a matter of social justice amongst the low-wage workers, also to reduce exploitation and see that workers can afford the standard basic living expenses and necessities, not to increase the unemployment rate, indeed to increase the employment rate.

The flow chart above was taken from a study done on California’s minimum wage. Currently California’s minimum wage is $10.50, significantly higher than $7.25, and remains a well-functioning state. In fact, the state is so well functioning that it is being proposed that minimum wage for that state be raised to an even higher $15 an hour.

The United States federal minimum wage is $7.25, which is unchanged since July 24, 2009. However, in countries such as China and India, American companies can pay workers a fraction of this and therefore repurpose the difference in other parts of the business (Amadeo, 2017). Even with the low wages, laborer turnover can be high, which directly leads to increased spending on recruiting new workers and indirectly to wage increases in order to maintain existing staff. Labor cost savings also may be partly offset by the risks of labor unrest and increasingly restrictive labor laws (Labor Cost, n.d.). According to the 2017 China Business Climate Survey, rising wages in China remain a major challenge for businesses investing in that country.

138 or light work consistent with Article 7 of ILO Minimum Age Convention No. 138. Juvenile Labor Suppliers may employ juveniles who are older than the applicable legal minimum age for employment but are younger than 18 years of age, provided they do not perform work likely to jeopardize their heath, safety, or morals, consistent with ILO Minimum Age Convention No. 138. Working Hours Except in Emergency or Unusual Situations, a workweek shall be restricted to 60 hours, including overtime, workers shall be allowed at least one day off every seven-days, and overtime shall be voluntary. Under no circumstances will workweeks exceed the maximum permitted under applicable laws and regulations. Suppliers must offer vacation time, leave periods, and holidays consistent with applicable laws and regulations. Wages and Benefits Suppliers must pay all workers at least the minimum wage required by applicable laws and regulations and provide all legally mandated benefits. In addition to their compensation for regular hours of work, workers must be compensated for overtime hours at the premium rate required by applicable laws and regulations. Suppliers shall not use deductions from wages as a disciplinary measure. Workers must be paid in a timely manner, and the basis on which workers are being paid must be clearly conveyed to them in a timely manner. Freedom of Association Suppliers must respect the right of workers to associate

The minimum wage for a worker depends on where they live. For example, the minimum wage in Georgia is $5.15 per hour, while the minimum wage in California is $10.00 per hour(United States Department of Labor). The benefit of raising the minimum wage is that it would give workers a