Is Minimum Wage Have On Us?

Minimum wage affects many people and by understanding its evolvement throughout the years we can better understand how our government can better provide for those working minimum wage jobs today. Inequality is an inevitable factor in a capitalist market, people need proper incentives to work hard and be productive, and the incentive of more money or more opportunity is the driving force of capitalism and even the American dream. However there are several current complications that even those who are actively employed are living under the poverty line, like stated previously minimum wage from when it was first implemented raised along with inflation but then began to lose momentum in the 1970s and since then it began to stagnate and then drop along with increased inflation; if minimum wage were to be raise to $10.10 to become congruent with inflation it would bring 4 million people above the poverty line. Congress instituted the minimum wage in 1938 as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The first minimum wage stood at 25 cents an hour. The last minimum wage increase occurred in 2007, when Congress raised the rate in steps from $5.15 an hour that year to $7.25 an hour in July 2009. The District of Columbia and 19 states have also established local minimum wages higher than the federal rate. The highest state minimum wage in the country occurs in Washington State at $9.32 an hour, however

Over that time, the value of a minimum-wage income has fallen nearly 10 percent due to rising prices. Yet this decline is small in comparison to the drop in value of the minimum wage over the past four decades. After rising in line with economy-wide productivity in the three decades following its inception in 1938, the federal minimum wage has been raised so inadequately and so infrequently since the late 1960s that today’s minimum-wage workers make roughly 25 percent less in inflation-adjusted terms than their counterparts 45 years ago.” The raise of past minimum wage was to help people that lived during that time frame. For example the crash in 2009 had a bad effect on America and its economy, which is when the minimum wage was

After the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed approximately 121 bills into law. One of these bills included the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 which would ban oppressive child labor, set the maximum workweek at 44 hours and finally, set the minimum hourly wage at 25 cents. President Roosevelt believed that it was the government’s duty to protect against “starvation wages and intolerable hours” (Grossman). Today, we still follow the principles that President Roosevelt laid out by having a federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. In the status quo there is a debate over whether there should be an increase in the minimum wage. Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution states that “Congress shall have Power to provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States”; by interpreting the Constitution as a living Constitutionalist would, to provide for the general Welfare of the United States an increase in the minimum wage is necessary for its citizens (Barbour).

For potential employees in the United States, one of the first things people want to know is what how much they are going to be paid. Minimum wage has been and continues be a very important topic for workers. The Fair Labor Standards Act was enacted in 1938 to protect our workers during the Great Depression under Franklin Roosevelt. According to the book, Legal Environment of Business: Online Commerce, Business Ethics, and Global Issues, “the Fair Labor Standards Act establishes a minimum wage and overtime pay requirements for workers (Cheeseman, 2016, p.454).”

People all across America believe that minimum wage is a good thing and helps people without an education have a normal life, however others believe it is causing poverty and homelessness among the citizens. Minimum wage was made to provide enough money to live just above the national poverty line.But over the years the cost of living has increased while the minimum wage hasn’t. Today, the national minimum wage is $7.25, which is less powerful than the minimum wage was in 1968. This is because the minimum wage was $1.60 per hour, which seems low but back then $1.60 was enough to support a three person family, whereas today the minimum wage can barely support one person. All throughout  the U.S., workers have been fighting for a higher minimum

In 1938, the Federal Government established a minimum wage through the Fair Labor Standards Act, during the Great Depression. Its stated purpose was to keep American workers out of poverty and increase consumer purchasing power to help stimulate the economy. President Franklin Roosevelt, understood that the minimum wage should be a living wage, he stated “by living wages, I mean more than a bare subsistence level — I mean the wages of a decent living.” Today, the Minimum wage is critical for ensuring that hard work is rewarded with fair pay. However, its value has eroded substantially, factors such as inflation and rising prices are decreasing its purchasing power, and the minimum wage is no longer what it used to be, despite decades of economic growth. Today, a family can no longer live on minimum wage; and a single person working full time on minimum wage is barely above the poverty line. When President Obama gave his 2013 State of the Union address, he advocated raising minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10-yet a year later, this still hasn’t happened. For many working Americans a higher minimum wage will make the difference between living in poverty or not, furthermore it provides a stepping stone into the middle class for many families. If the minimum wage is increased to equal a current living wage, the income inequality gap will decrease and the quality of life for those living on minimum wage salaries will increase,

During the late 19th century, and even a few decades into the 20th century, American laborers worked intensely. They worked both many hours and with very little pay. The bosses of these workers would pay them as much or as little as they saw fit. It wasn’t up until the year 1938 that the federal minimum wage was established in America at $0.25 per hour (that being equal to about $4.21 now). It was one of the greatest things in America at that time. It was revolutionary as a matter of fact.

Also referred to as living wage, minimum wage is the lowest hourly rate allowed by federal law to be paid to an employee by an employer that is usually determined by inflations and other economic factors. Usually, it is an economic program stipulating an employee’s benefits of working per hour valued against a hardship policy instigated by the employer. In the United States, the minimum wage first came to light during the Depression era which has propelled from levels of 25cents to $7.25 per hour since 1993 (David, 2013). Irrespective if this steep increase, matters inflation in the

In 1938, The United States enacted a minimum wage law under the Fair Labor Standards Act that made employers pay their workers at least twenty-five cents. The law was intended to reduce the amount of Americans living in poverty and keep track of unjust business practices. Still to this day, we Americans argue over the controversy due to low minimum wage and high inflation rates. The deregulation of business and the inconsistent government policies have led to an alarming problem, the minimum wage isn’t enough for Americans to live off of nor is it doing its original purpose by getting citizens out of poverty.

The modern minimum wage was established by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) Franklin Roosevelt signed the law which passed by an overwhelming majority (Grossman, 1978). While a minimum wage is certainly an altruistic idea and one that receives widespread public support, there is a question among economists such as Richard Burkhauser as to the effectiveness of minimum wage on reducing the level of poverty. “Minimum-wage increases (1998-2003) did not affect poverty rates overall, or among the working poor” (Burkhauser & Sabia, 2007). In addition, some of the minimum wage laws which came before the FLSA were challenged in the Supreme Court, such as in Schecter Poultry Corporate v. U.S in 1935, and declared unconstitutional. While there

The minimum wage is the mandated price floor paid on hourly or daily basis for the employees regulated by the government or the union. In “Federal Minimum Wage”, New Zealand and Australia enacted the first minimum wage law during the late 19th century to prevent employers’ exploitation of workers. In 1912, Massachusetts passed the first minimum wage legislation in the US that was enforced for women and children, and fifteen more states followed in the next eleven years. However, the Supreme Court abolished the minimum wage laws in 1923 because the laws violated the women and employers’ Fifth Amendment or their right to negotiate a binding agreement without government interference. In the US, the first federal minimum wage law passed 25 cents per hour as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to help struggling workers during the Great Depression (“Federal Minimum Wage”). Since 1938, the minimum wage law has increased twenty-two times to $7.25 to keep pace with inflation. However, minimum wage laws have exemptions in some field of works such as tipped employee who earns $2.13 an hour in direct wages if the amount plus the tips received is at least the mandated minimum wage. In addition, agricultural workers earn their salaries by the number of bags or weight multiplied by the crops’ selling price (“Minimum Wage and Overtime Basics”).

If you are born poor in America today there is a great possibility that you are going to remain poor. With today’s economic recession steadily rising due to the inflation in prices, most Americans are finding themselves unable to prove for their families. Minimum wage was designed to help low-wage workers make what the state considers to be a fair wage, minimum has had both negative and positive impact on works. Without minimum wage low-skilled works would not know what to expect when they go job hunting. The effect of job hunting could be offset by the low wage offers they would receive, and it may be beneficial for low skilled workers to remain on public assistance.

In 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into effect the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Among other things it banned child labor, limited the workweek to 44 hours, and set the national minimum wage at 25 cents an hour (United States Department of Labor). This is one of 121 bills put forth by Roosevelt after Congress had adjourned. The purpose of the bill is associated with the Great Depression. For the purpose of assisting the nation back onto its feet after the Great Depression, this solution has succeeded, but unfortunately the issue had evolved and this one act could not sustain the growth of a nation. So technically this is no longer a solution for this very important issue. There has been a somewhat steady increase in wages through adjustments of the act, up to the current solution, but according to the Pew Research Center and the Economist, the set wages are actually less than what they use to be due to inflation: “Adjusted for inflation, the federal minimum wage peaked in 1968 at $8.54 (in 2014 dollars). Since it was last raised in 2009, to the current $7.25 per hour, the federal minimum has lost about 8.1% of its purchasing power to inflation”. This clear disconnect proves that the previous solution(s) is no longer working and therefore needs to be adjusted to meet America’s ever growing economy.

There has been much controversy over the years on the impacts resulting from an imposed minimum wage and how it relates to the economy. It wasn’t until President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a Bill enacting the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 that American’s gained the right to a minimum threshold by which their labor could be sold. Against much opposition President Roosevelt was for a law that banned oppressive child labor and set the minimum hourly wage at .25 cents, and the maximum workweek at 44 hours.1 The minimum wage has been around for many years and it wasn’t until recently that it has become the topic of many discussions again. The intent of this paper is to look at some of the economic impacts associated with an increase to the minimum wage. There continues to be a difference in opinion among many economists on the pros and cons of a minimum wage hike. Those in favor attribute quality of life, reduction in poverty and gained efficiencies; while those that oppose claim an increase to poverty, unemployment and reduced efficiencies across the board. Which path warrants the most merit and should be considered a viable option across the board for the United States labor force?

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