Essay On Federal Minimum Wage

There are a lot of people around the world who struggle with money and a satisfactory way of life. Whether they be in the United States or across the globe, there is a standard minimum wage set for the working class of their country. In the Unites States, there is a federal minimum wage of seven dollars and twenty five cents per hour worked. Almost every state has another set minimum wage, which typically is a little higher than the federal minimum wage, but it cannot be lower than seven dollars and twenty five cents. Countries set minimum wage laws, to ensure there is a basic quality of life amongst its citizens. As the minimum wage goes up in certain states, the quality of life also improves. The problem with a higher minimum wage, is now people are getting paid higher for entry level jobs which are meant for teenagers and people new to the workforce. If the minimum wage keeps increasing across the country, teenagers and young adults will have a much more difficult time finding jobs.

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?

There are many employees who find themselves working full-time for what the government has so generously termed the “minimum wage”. In Missouri, the minimum wage has been set at a rather appalling $7.65 per hour while in other states there are wages starting as high as $10. Though arguably the economy is not as sluggish and terrible as it once was, $7.65 per hour will not help those who have children, no college degree and debts to pay. It is not only Missouri that has minimum wage laws, but every other state in America has minimum wage laws in place. Both California and Seattle recently established a plan that would see their minimum wages rise to $15 by 2021. The question for all the other forty-eight states remains, should the minimum wage be raised?

The minimum wage is one of the most controversial issues on our country, which is United States has been facing last ten years. There have been never ending debates over this issue until the government, company, and others party stand together, and raise the minimum wage throughout the nations. There are communities that believe raise the minimum wage has negative impact of every sector of the country. Other communities have different beliefs over the issue, raising the minimum wage helps the poor people, and would help not hurt our economy.

Franklin Roosevelt introduced minimum wage as a part of Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. The purpose of minimum wage were to prevent poverty and to stimulate the economy by increasing consumer’s purchasing power. However, in 2015, 78.2 million workers were paid hourly, representing 58.5% of all workers in the United States. Among those people, 870,000 workers earned the minimum wage, $7.25 per hour and 1.7 million workers earned below the minimum. In total, 3.3% of workers earned exactly or below the minimum wage. For years, there have been heated debates about whether the government should raise the minimum wage. In 2016, California, New York, and Washington D.C. agreed to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour. Some people think raising the minimum wage will decrease poverty and improve the workers living. Instead, raising the minimum wage will make the job market more competitive and it will increase the poverty level. When minimum wage was raised to $10 per hour, it benefited 16 to 24 million people while half a million workers lost their job. Rather than improving, Faces of $15 will damage the U.S economy and deeply hurt living condition of Americans.

The argument for minimum wage has remained remake consistent over the years. Some people are against minimum wage and the other think minimum wage can help you in a certain way. In the midst of the Great Depression, the Unites States federal government passed the Fair Labor Standards Act. The law has been amended almost every year to expand coverage of the wage floor and to increase the wage itself. Many of the fifty states have enacted their own minimum wage laws, some of them set even higher than the federal level. Minimum wage jobs don’t only help adults at hard times it help teenagers and college students. I learned that the proponents for minimum wage believe the raw value of one’s labor to a business

The minimum wage debate brings about a range of reactions from different people. There are those who believe that there shouldn’t even be a minimum wage and that wages should be determined by the markets. On the other hand, we have those who vigorously argue for increasing the wage minimum citing inflation, the poverty line and worker productivity. Regardless, we do have a federal minimum wage rate in the United States at $7.25 per hour, with some states having a higher minimum wage than the federal minimum. President Obama, in his first state of the union address of his second term proposed “Tonight, let’s declare that, in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty, and raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour” (The White House 2013). A year later, he has revised that number to $10.10 per hour after signing an executive order that has already raised the minimum wage for federal workers to that number. (The White House 2014). With more and more states raising their own minimum wage, a minimum wage increase seems almost imminent with Democrats and Republicans getting closer to a deal. (Bolton 2014). But we are more interested in the efficiency of a minimum wage implemented at the federal level. The main question that surrounds this debate is whether this price floor in labor markets is efficient given that the stated goal of the minimum wage is to make sure full-time workers earn a living wage and are above the poverty line.

The topic of increasing in the federal minimum wage has been hotly debated in Congress and between politicians and activists since the most recent increase to $7.25 in 2009. The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 proposed a $10.10 federal minimum wage increase but failed in Congress, while a more recent proposition, the 2016 Raise The Wage Act, hopes to put wages at $12 per hour by the year 2020 (14). Propositions like these seek to allow lower-income working families to earn a living wage but they have faced resistance by conservatives. Stagnation of wages has caused various cities and states to spearhead minimum wage increases at a local level, with twenty-nine states now having wages higher than the federal minimum (13). Raising the federal minimum wage to $12 an hour would correct for years of deteriorating wage values and would pull hard-working families out of poverty while lessoning income inequality and boosting the economy from the bottom up with minimal costs to businesses.

There are a lot of reasons i believe the federal minimum wage should be kept the same. One reason i believe it should be kept the same is that these low paying minimum wage jobs were not originally created to make a whole career out of. These jobs were created for young people to learn some basic skills they will need to develop for future employers. Some things these jobs are meant to teach you is the importance of having a good attitude, working hard, showing up on time. After you posses these skills you could then pursue into getting a better paying job. If

The minimum wage in the United States has been an ongoing controversy for many years now. The first minimum wage was established in 1938 (Reich, 2015, P. 3). That minimum wage started out at .25 cents an hour; compared to today’s higher wage of a government standard of $7.25 an hour. Many people believe that the minimum wage should be more so that those who live below the poverty level in the United States will decrease, however in many other people’s opinions the minimum wage should be the same. The minimum wage should stay the same at a low $7.25.

Whether minimum wage should be state or federally mandated is the question that state representatives all across the nation are questioning. The minimum wage law changes by each job, every state, and people who get the short end of the stick are wondering 'why?' There is no doubt that minimum wage should be the same for all citizens. All employees should be treated and paid the same depending on the department and their position. It is extremely unethical that ordinary people obtain a larger salary than those who have more experience. Minimum wage should be the same for every person that start a new job. As a legal adult in today's society, I recognize how the nation financially struggles on a day to day to basis which leads me to believe

This is the baseline each state can make their own minimum wage. The employees are paid the higher of the two wages. Ohio’s for instance is currently $8.15. I think it would be interesting to see the minimum wage go up, so the people who work those jobs have the ability to afford food, a moderate rent, clothing from a discount store, and maybe a little leftover to save for a rainy day. I think a wage of about $10 to $13 would be able to manage such requirements. A supply and demand graph of the labor market with a $11.25 minimum wage is depicted below in Figure

The issue with the minimum wage is that some companies don’t see a benefit from it, it can be a factor to decisions the company or businesses may take. The owners of these businesses would rather have no limit to how much they spend on their employees, but that would create a problem. Some Companies could neglect the workers and just pocket more of the profit they make. This would be unjust to many employees’ especially low-income employees trying to support families. Another could be that the people receiving minimum pay will argue it is too low. Originally minimum wage is to set a dollar amount for those who make less amounts. Raising the dollar amount will help the employee’s see bigger numbers on their pay stubs, but everything else priced will

To discuss the importance of the minimum wage, one must first understand the history behind it. To begin, it should be known that there are two forms of minimum wage, one at the federal level, and one at the state level. State minimum wage must be at or above the federal minimum wage. The federal minimum wage was first established at 25 cents in 1938 as a part of the Fair Labor and Standards Act under the leadership of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Since then, in 2015, the federal minimum wage rose to $7.25, although, when considering the rate of inflation, this amount is the same value as the minimum wage was in 1968. In 2013, in Obama’s state of the union speech, he called for raising the minimum wage to $9, which still only brings its value to what it was in the

Having a minimum wage lowers wealth inequality throughout a county. It does this by forcing big companies to spread it back down to the workers. The Economic Policy Institute reports that a minimum wage increase results in more consumer spending and a broader economy, along with helping low income families (“Federal Minimum Wage” par 34). This means good new for just about everyone except for big businesses. While the federal minimum wage has been around for quite a while in the United States, many argue that the current federal level of $7.25 an hour is still too low. Speaking on raising the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $9.00 an hour, Barack Obama, a supporter for an increase in the federal minimum wage, stated, "We know our economy is stronger when we reward an honest day's work with honest wages... In the wealthiest nation on earth, no one who works full time should have to live in poverty," (“Federal Minimum Wage” par 3). Along these lines, many state governments have already make an effort to increase the minimum wage within their state. California and New York are currently moving towards a $15 per hour minimum wage in order to combat inflation and their high costs of living. Other states will hopefully soon follow in an attempt to combat the poverty and wealth inequality that a low minimum wage