Argumentative Essay On Minimum Wage

Minimum wage has caused controversy throughout history between the two parties in government, the Democrats and Republicans, debating if they should increase minimum wage or not. Minimum wage was first established during 1938 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt (Sessions). The first act to enforce employers to pay its employees is the Fair Labor Standards Act which followed the Social Security Act (Sessions). Minimum wage started as twenty-five (25) cents per hour which doesn’t seem like a lot, but it was at that time (Sessions). The United States tended to raise the minimum wage when the standard of living changed. Since 1938, two other amendments were created to increase minimum wage laws even more. By 1961, minimum wage raised to $1.15 with another increase in 1963 (wages). Since the 1963 wage change, minimum wage created a trend of increasing yearly or every other year (Wages). From 2007 to 2009 minimum wage increased each year making the current minimum wage $7.25 (wages). Sine minimum wage has been established, Congress has increased minimum wage twenty-two times (22) (). Since minimum wage is supposed to change when the standard of living changes, then why hasn’t the United States government changed it since 2009?

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.

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.

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.

The minimum wage is intended to protect workers and fight poverty. In the United States, the federal government sets the minimum wage at $7.25 per hour although many states set higher minimums. There is currently a movement to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour. This movement is called the “Living Wage Movement” (Living Wage Resource Center, 2016) or the “Fight for $15” (Fortunato, 2016) and purports to address the problem of poverty in America.

"According to a 2014 Congressional Budget Office report, increasing the minimum wage to $9 would lift 300,000 people out of poverty, and an increase to $10.10 would lift 900,000 people out of poverty.” Currently the federal minimum wage is $7.25. The government should raise the minimum wage to $9.25 per hour. We need to raise the minimum wage to the point where the lowest paid worker can afford their basic needs. Raising the minimum wage would strengthen the workforce and the economy.

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.

In today’s economics minimum wage is used as a price control or price floor that the government enforces. A price floor is a minimum price for a product or service above the market’s equilibrium price. Selling any product or service sold below the price floor is considered illegal. Since the price of a commodity or service is increased the demand will go down lower than the quantity supplied creating a surplus. This theory also creates a surplus in employment. When minimum wage is increased or a price floor is set there will be a surplus of employees and the demand for workers will decrease. Well in order to accurately determine whether the minimum wage employees are receiving is enough to maintain a minimal lifestyle, we must first understand how the minimum wage is calculated. According to the United States Department of Labor, “federal minimum wage for covered nonexempt employees is $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009. The federal minimum wage provisions are contained in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).” The Fair Labor Standards Act is a set of standards pertaining to youth employment, overtime pay, and other laws that affect employees within private and public

What is minimum wage? It is the lowest amount that employers must pay their workers per hour of their labor, legally prescribed by federal government. According to Bureau of Labor Statics, United States Department of Labor, minimum wage was first introduced in United States by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1938 called Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA). The initial minimum wage was set to $0.25 per hour in 1938 (Grossman). The minimum wage was increased twenty-two times from 1938 to 2009. At present, the federal minimum wage has not changed since 2009, and is fixed at $ 7.25 (U.S Department of Labor). The raise of minimum wage becomes a controversial topic among citizen, some people are in favor of raising the minimum wage, while

Minimum wage is the minimum hourly wage an employee can earn from work. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the minimum wage law on June 25, 1938. However, the United States has not always had a minimum wage. The United States minimum wage has been in effect since the Great Depression. Before then there was no minimum wage and there certainly were not any legislation to look after workers from development. Many of workers had to work in awful environments such as factories and sweatshops and they were only paid a few pennies a week. The minimum wage started at 0.25 cents per hour and the maximum workweek at 44 hours in 1938. As of today, the federal minimum wage is at $7.25 an hour, part of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The minimum wage has arguably become the most controversial topic regarding our economy today, as it influences one of the largest classes of people within the United States, the working class. Federally, the minimum wage has not been raised in eight years, so it has stayed at $7.25 per hour for all non-exempt workers (U.S. DoL). The opinions on this topic are typically split across a progressive-conservative line, with progressives being in favor of a raise from $7.25, and conservatives wanting to stay at the current rate. This can be seen when looking at the typical progressive stances from states and municipalities that raise the minimum wage for businesses operating within their jurisdiction, since the higher rate among all levels of

To begin with, I would like to describe what the minimum wage is. The minimum wage is the lowest wage that companies can pay employees. It should provide enough income for employees to have the amount which will be sufficient to guarantee the subsistence minimum. This theme is widely discussed around the world. Many countries have a type of minimum wage. Most of them regulate it yearly, depending on the cost of living. Speaking about the minimum wage in the USA, it is lower than in most other world’s countries, although the cost of living is higher. Nowadays the minimum federal wage in the USA is 7, 25 and it can vary by state or by employee position. Despite of this fact, some individual states can make their own laws on this. The minimum wage laws should prohibit employers from manipulating workers.

The minimum wage is the lowest amount of employer’s pay which is required to pay an hourly worker. The hourly minimum wage rate that an employee will receive depends on the state in which they work and the type of job they are working at. If the minimum wage of the employee is reduced, they can have an effect on their household’s lifestyle. An increase in the minimum wage can raise the standard of living for impoverished workers and also indicate the standard of living in a certain country. Furthermore, it can also reduce race and gender in equality and poverty. On the other hand, there are also have many reasons that the minimum wage should not raise. First, some minimum wages can cause an unemployment because when the minimum wage increases some employers will have more incentive to invest in technology and machinery instead of human resources. This reason can also increase poverty in the country. Second, it can cause the price of a consumer good. If the minimum wage is increased, the price of a consumer good might be increased to offset higher labor costs. Third, an increased minimum wage would hurt businesses and force some company to close because the minimum wage is higher than the company’s ability to pay.

Minimum wage was introduced more than 75 years ago as a benefit for employees throughout the labor force. Many workers struggled to provide for their families during the Great Depression. Cities nationwide were negatively affected causing crops, businesses, and the economy to fail. According to Jones (2016), states that “The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 set a national minimum wage of $0.25 an hour, a 44-hour work week, and the prohibition of "oppressive" child labor.” Ultimately, an innumerable number of workers were demanded to meet expectations in terrible conditions for little pay. Because of the Great Depression, the wage minimum was constantly increased which later caused the living wage to rise. Those who advocate for an increase of pay often express that the current pay permitted by law is too low for anybody to live on. By giving more career opportunities, decreasing income inequality, and increasing worker morals, the minimum wage can be increased.

Minimum wage is a base level of pay that employers are required to pay their employees. Minimum wage was created by congress under the Fair Labor Standards Act signed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1938. Since then it has been a very controversial topic. Not only are there people for and against it, but even the people for it debate whether the amount should be raised or lowered. Congress has increased the minimum wage 22 times since it was introduced.