Benefits Of Low Wage Jobs Essay

Right now,according to Victoria Smith,over 40 million people are living in poverty. This could be changed if they were able to get enough money from their jobs, but the minimum wage isn’t high enough right now. Even if only by a little, if minimum wage were raised, the amount of people living in poverty could be reduced by at least 5 million according to Mike Konczal . Originally, the minimum wage was at only .25 cents an hour. Due to causes such as inflation, this wage has been raised to meet the current standard. Although interest in raising the wage has gone away until recently. Minimum wage should be increased because it would increase job growth and economic activity,it would reduce government spending on welfare, and reduce poverty.

When there are millions of Americans living at or below poverty lines, something has to be done. Billion dollar companies and businesses that employ workers, paying them low wages is hurting the economy. The reality is, unless the minimum wage is raised, the cycle will only continue. With higher minimum wages in place, the entire country does better and, therefore, should be raised. There needs to be laws put place to raise the minimum wage. Doing so would boost the economy with all of the money that Americans would put into it. With higher minimum wages, millions of Americans can get out of poverty, not having to rely on the government for assistance such as food stamps, public housing, child care, and health care needs. They can afford better housing options in which they want to live. Communities would see less crimes in neighborhoods creating a safer environment. Aside from that, Americans can afford a good education, health care, as well as healthier eating and exercising habits.

There are many valuable reasons why people suppose a raise in minimum wage. One significant claim is how this raise would benefit minimum wage workers. According to the article “Should We Raise The Minimum Wage? 11 Questions and Answers,” Jordan Weissmann argues that raising the minimum wage would make many families’ lives more financially stable without a

$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,

The federal minimum wage law was signed in 1938 by President Franklin Roosevelt in order to keep people out of poverty and increase consumer purchasing power. This has done the opposite by hurting businesses and reducing employment, while minimum wages go up, so will the costs of living. Most of the people working for minimum wage are 16 between 24 years old, 37% of workers are going to school working part time. Enrollment tuition has increased over the years, and raising the minimum wage could mean further increasing expenses. But, for people who aren 't pursuing an education and begin working right out of school, the federal minimum wage $7.25 looks like it can be hard to live on. Raising the minimum wage would most likely increase with the cost of living, making cost of living or tuition even more expensive, making it harder to pay for groceries or bills. Just because someone starts out at a minimum wage job, doesn 't mean they can 't progress through the company and earn a better wage over the years. Minimum wages are more for entry level paying jobs that don 't require any certain set of skills to be able to do what they ask. Maintaining the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 will help stop rise of inflation.

Beyond that many people who are working minimum wage have families to support and their income wouldn’t even be close enough for them to support a family. A large amount of people working minimum wage are below the age of 30, but there is still a very large percentage of people above the age of 30 making minimum wage. A quote states “About 20.6 million people (or 30% of all hourly, non-self-employed workers 18 and older) are “near-minimum-wage” workers” (DeSilver). Many of the people above the age of thirty don’t live alone and need to provide for other people. This leaves not only the employees in poverty but their children, or whoever else lives at home with them. It is said that “Less than half (45%) of the 2.6 million hourly workers who were at or below the federal minimum in 2015 were ages 16 to 24” (DeSilver). A change in minimum wage could potentially help people out of poverty.

How does an employer decide how much to pay his employees? Logically, he 'd want to reduce overhead costs by paying them as little as possible. Minimum wage laws exist to protect workers from being exploited by wages too low to live on, as well as in an effort to reduce poverty in society and it 's far-reaching consequences. Many states have laws that raise the minimum wage at the same rate as inflation, but the federal government does not (Whitaker 634). The value of a new minimum wage begins to fall from the moment it is set. Because the costs of living are always rising, it is a hardship on those who must rely on wages which constantly degrade in value to meet these costs. The federal minimum wage, $7.25, has become too little for anyone to live on, especially without public assistance. The federal minimum wage has lagged further and further behind inflation over the last forty years (Covert). The minimum wage should be raised to a living wage for the entire country and set to index with inflation. As the cost of living increases, the wages paid to employees to cover that cost also needs to be regulated to increase in order to address income inequality and bureaucratic oversight; additionally, recent analysis shows that there would likely be modest benefits to the economy in the event of a modest federal minimum wage hike.

How come lets say in this state you get paid $3.00 and at a different state but same job you get paid 8.00$. It's not fair that people get paid more in different states for the same job.

The minimum wage has been a topic of discussion for decades. It was introduced in the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938, originally set at $0.25. It has since been raised 29 times. The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 and was set in 2009 (11). This is the reason many people are upset with the wage not increasing. It would take $8.09 in 2016 to equal the $7.25 from 2009. The minimum wage needs to be increased to boost the economy and lift families out of poverty. However, the minimum wage should not be increased to more than $10 per hour to prevent an increase in the price of consumer goods and prevent a spike in high school dropout rates.

A wage increase in our country would do a world of good rather than harm. This country is in dire need of a wage increase but just because it needs one doesn’t mean people shouldn’t read in between the lines and how it will be helpful. Minimum wage was always the status quo in this country there was a time where it didn’t exist. With time however, it established itself into our modern day society. Because of the growth of the country the minimum wage was left untouched forgetting what it was made to do in the first place. There are some negatives pertaining to raising the wage, some fictional others factual. Before, it was raised to compliment the normal amount money required for the standard of living for Americans. However, it never raised

Does minimum wage effect our life? The minimum pay is the lowest wage permitted by law or by a special agreement. It started in 1938 from $0.25/hr to the current $7.25/hr and the highest minimum wage was in 1968 which is 10.85/hr. The last increased was—to $5.85 in July, 2007, to $6.55 in July, 2008, and to $7.25 in July 2009. Some people believe that raising minimum wage cause jobs loss. However, it is important to ensure raising minimum income because it supports poor families and increase the economy.

The gender wage gap is a prominent issue which is fought for in feminism today. In the past, this standard has been justified due to the fact that women were more likely to be stay-at-home moms, and were less likely to have jobs or college degrees. Today, women are getting comparable education to men, and working comparable jobs, yet the issue remains. The gender wage gap is a women’s rights issue based on the old-fashioned role of women in society which needs to be fought against and decreased in the United States during this current political and social climate.

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.

Raising the pay of one’s workers is proven to increase productivity in the workplace: Worker productivity increased 104% while the minimum wage rose 101% between 1947 and 1973 (Henderson). Common sense also plays a role here. If you were being paid a penny an hour when you really deserve a quarter an hour, would you work your hardest? Would you begin your work enthusiastically at full-throttle? No, you wouldn’t, and the second you saw a better opportunity at another place of employment, you would jump to it. Why should you feel loyal towards a job or company which does not pay you enough to live? The federal minimum wage should be raised in order to ensure the effort and loyalty of workers.

Every American dreams of finding a job that pays well enough so that they may comfortably take care of their loved ones and themselves for years to come. Most Americans hope to find some way to make a living that they enjoy, something that they view as productive. Unfortunately, many do not have this luxury. In our society, a good portion of the population is forced to hold the base of our country in place while hardly being redeemed for their time and effort, and thus the problem of income inequality. Numbers of these people live from paycheck to paycheck, barely getting by, not because they manage their money poorly, but because the value of their time at work is negligible.