Ways To Reduce Poverty In America

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

According to the American Enterprise Institute, it is stated by president Obama that increasing the minimum wage: “would alleviate poverty”. The president is certainly correct, this wouldn't help everyone. As the information given: only 11.3% of the people will get beneficiated by this raise. Why this? People who don’t work are the ones in poverty; and because firing some its workers, there will be more poverty than there was before. And if the case is that a company keeps their employees… the people

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.

Raising minimum wages is a contestable issue because it is debated in wide and varied audiences. Minimum wage is near the top of economists’ interest; they are looking for the connection between low wages and poor job markets. Each country sets its own laws and regulations regarding wages. For this reason, it has significant importance to policy makers and workers in each of those respective countries. Social activists have also found interest in the topic due to the fact that those who earn a minimum wage tend to come from poor minority families. Furthermore, the average American should have the strongest interest in the conversation because most citizens have been paid a minimum wage at some point in their life. Due to this fact, the idea of a significant federal minimum wage increase in America is open for debate specifically to rejuvenate the job industry, improve living conditions for citizens, and strengthen the economy as a whole.

In the United States alone, the amount of people in poverty is 14.5%. That equates to 45.3 million people in 2013. In a country like America, one of the world’s superpowers, it’s embarrassing to admit. But the main issue is to fix issues like these with the minimum wage and welfare. The minimum wage applies to workers who got a job whether because they were in school or because they had not gone to college and had no other option. Most of the country lives off as minimum wage workers as only 1% of the world’s population has a college degree. Minimum wage needs to be adjusted to modern inflation. But the minimum wage allegedly does not affect poverty at all says a large demographic and does not need to be adjusted. The minimum wage makes up a lot of the country and should be adjusted or modified to today’s standard of living.

More specifically, raising the federal minimum wage would provide a huge boost to low-income Americans while imposing a negligible negative effect on American businesses and the economy as a whole. In essence, this paper will attempt to prove in detail that raising the federal minimum wage is a necessary action which will help to alleviate many of the problems faced by low-income earners in America and provide an overall benefit to society.

One of the main points of Holtz-Eakins article is that does the U.S. actually need to raise minimum wage? There are as many people that are working but we also have the same amount of people not working and if not more. According to recent American Action Forum research, 80 percent of minimum wage workers are not actually in poverty, increasing the federal minimum to $10, as some have proposed, wouldn't benefit 99 percent of the people in poverty (Holtz-Eakin). In saying this real problem is not raising the minimum wage it’s that people are too lazy to get up and go find a job. Eakin makes the statement “It wouldn’t target those hurt the worst: the unemployed and low-skilled, and in fact would build bigger barriers for those without a job (Holtz-Eakin). This is so relatable because if we did raise it a dollar menu would be nonsexist instead it would be $5.00

In announcing his proposal to increase the minimum wage, the president argued that doing so would alleviate poverty. The president is certainly correct to turn his attention to the poor, many of whom have been suffering for years in a tough economy. And it is clearly desirable for households that engage in full-time work not to live in poverty. But increasing the minimum wage would

In America and countries around the world, we face a universal problem: poverty. Among many options, a widespread solution for this problem is the implementation of a minimum wage. Aside from the US, countries such as Luxembourg, Belgium, and Ireland all have set minimum wages(Petroff). Minimum wage was first established during the Great Depression when President John F.Kennedy was striving to help the economy and lift many Americans out of poverty(Day). At the time, the minimum wage was $0.25 an hour, which corresponds to about $3.98 an hour in today’s money(Minimum Wage). Since then, the minimum wage has steadily increased to today’s $7.25 an hour. With the fluctuating economy, people’s views and opinions on the subject have swayed every which way throughout the years, with minimum wages rising and falling over different cities, states and countries. The imminent truth is that people simply need more money, with around 60% of the population already in poverty (Dunkelberg). Often times, people are very liberal with this issue and suggest that America raise the minimum wage drastically to $15.00 an hour. The face of the proposition is a pretty one, suggesting that everyone gets more money, so how could one say no? While increasing the minimum wage has had some small benefits, especially from an employee’s perspective, the success of this idea proves to be a facade on the face of the future

. Burkhauser found no evidence that minimum wage increases were effective at lowering overall poverty rates or poverty rates among workers. Even by targeting populations that raising the minimum wage was supposed to protect, such as less educated single mothers, Burkhauser confirms that minimum wage increases did little to alleviate poverty for less educated single mothers as well. Additionally, David Neumark of the University of California-Irvine and William Wascher of the Federal Reserve Board analyzed family-specific flows in and out of poverty as a result of an uptick in the minimum wage. Neumark and Wascher used current population survey data and found that when the minimum wage was increased some workers were lifted out of poverty, but others lost their jobs and found themselves in poverty as a result of raising the minimum wage. Neumark and Wascher’s findings suggest that minimum wage hikes only redistribute income among the poor and near-poor households. Only junior high school dropouts seem

Understand how to prevent poverty has been a great concern within the United States and across the globe. Many people believe that if you live in poverty you are lazy and you put yourself in that position. Well that is just not the case. Having said that, while I was doing the simulation, I noticed that I had to make difficult decisions that would result in whether or not I would make enough money to pay bills and keep my family intact. I know what it's like to live in poverty. I've experienced what it's like to have no running water or no electricity. When my parents came to the United States in the 90's they had a tough time getting situated in Nashville, Tennessee. When my mother had me and brother, everything seemed to be going well for

United States. However, 51.4 percent is earned by the richest, whom account only 10 percent of the population. Moreover, the top 3% of earners own over half of all wealth in the United States (Frohlich). This increase in poverty is due in part to the high oils prices, the recession of 2008, and the relocation of many businesses in another country. For instance, the poverty rate of 2009 was the highest it has been in 15 years according to the Census Bureau. The report showed rates of poverty regarding blacks, whites, Hispanics and Asians. The poverty rate for non-whites was 9.4 percent, for black 25.8 percent, for Hispanics 25.3 percent and for Asians 12.5 percent (Eckholm).

Poverty in the United States is constantly growing and there are different measures that need to be established so poverty can begin to decrease. Barbara Ehrenreich a writer stated in, her persuasive essay, Is It Now a Crime to Be poor?, "It's too bad so many people are falling into poverty at a time when it's almost illegal to be poor" (2015, p.340). Poverty is an issue in the United States, that numerous people are trying to find solutions to. When the economy takes a turn for the worse, that is when the increase in poverty begins to skyrocket. The United States poverty can decrease by creating more jobs, establish better work schedules, and providing paid leave and paid sick days.

When asked about protests around the country to raise the minimum wage to 15 dollars, which equates to about $31,000 per year, he said, ”with taxes too high, wages too high, we’re not going to be able to compete against the world. I hate to say it, but we have to leave it the way it is. People have to go out, they have to work really hard and have to get into that upper stratosphere”. Those who are for a raised minimum wage state that currently it isn’t enough to live on, and that most people who do earn minimum wage don’t even work for 35 hours a week. They also argue that it could act as a stimulus when low-income houses earn more money, then they are likely to spend it, which would put more money into the economy. The American Economic Policy Institute said "By increasing workers' take-home pay, families gain both financial security and an increased ability to purchase goods and services, thus creating jobs for other Americans”. But those who are against it argue that studies have shown that increasing the minimum wage does not decrease poverty. They also argue that it would put pressure on small business owners, causing them to hire fewer workers, and also causing the unemployment rate to increase even more.

This call appeared to be directed at the working class of America, however, the real victim of the poverty in America is the rise in wealth barriers between the rich and poor. Obama even turned to points in the Catholic Church's "Just Wage" doctrine when making statements about the issue in his address (Clark. 1). This “money gap” has only gotten larger since the presidency of Ronald Reagan which is when minimum wage was its highest in America. According the the Congressional Budget Office of America, over the past three decades, the wealthiest Americans have received a significantly high increase in income compared to the lowest percentage of people who have received only a twenty percent increase (Alessi. 4). In simpler terms, the poor have continued to become poorer and the rich have continued to become richer. If the wage constantly increased in terms of productivity of Americans from 1968 to 2012, Americans would be getting payed over 20 dollars an hour. The minimum wage is simply not enough to provided for the average American family in these modern times. Many people, like economists, are against raising the minimum wage because they believe it will hurt the American economy rather than help it. They get angry about the fact that evidence states that raising minimum wage will not cause unemployment. The evidence found that