Minimum Wage Debate Analysis

Rex Huppke, a writer for the Chicago tribune,writes about how raising the minimum wage may not be as positive to the society and economy as Americans are lead to believe. After interviewing many specialist and professors concerning this subject, he concludes that despite what other newspapers are saying raising the minimum wage could damage the economy. As an effect of what the media is saying this article was written to inform the public of the real cost of raising minimum wage.

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.

Ira Knight, who is an author of article “Let’s Make the Minimum Wage a Living Wage”, expresses an opinion that increasing the minimum wage would help all struggling workers and at the same time improve U.S economy. On the other side, Janice Steele in her article “Keep the Minimum Wage Where It Is” argues that raising the minimum wage would have bad effects on workers, consumers and small businesses. Ira Knight’s article seems to be the stronger of the two positions because her arguments are based on several recent studies, and last but not least, she had a personal experience with the minimum wage job.

Raising minimum wage has been an ongoing issue for many years. Similar to every debatable issue, pros and cons are inevitable. In the United States, minimum wage started when the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) was passed and minimum wage started at 25 cents per hour. The purpose of setting a minimum wage is to set a maximum workweek and to eliminate child labor. It is defined to be the least amount of money employers are obligated to pay their employees by law. As the years passed, the minimum wage began to increase to accommodate the growing economy. Although the wage has increased from a mere 25 cents per hour to $7.25 over the course of 75 years, living expenses are much higher causing many people to be poverty stricken (Debate.org). President Obama proposes raising the minimum wage, so that it would help minimize the income gap in America. However, most business organizations and the Republicans oppose to the idea, saying that it could potentially lead to more economic problems. While both sides have valid points, which one provides a more compelling argument? In the United States, the minimum wage should be raised in every state; therefore workers can have a more comfortable standard of living, lower the poverty line, and minimize the income gap.

The issue of raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour is a heavily debated topic. Both sources against or in favor of the minimum wage refer to a “growing gap” between low-income workers and high-income earners. Sources against the minimum wage believe raising it will increase this gap, whereas those in favor of the minimum wage believe it will decrease this gap. The arguments in favor of the minimum wage rely mostly on ethical beliefs, such as “pay should reflect hard work,” to advance the need for a higher minimum wage. Whereas, the arguments against the minimum wage use quantitative data like unemployment rates and economic analysis involving supply and demand to undermine the policy behind the minimum wage. Ultimately, the

There has been many conversations about what the positive impacts can come to America 's lowest income workers as a result of an increase in the minimum wage, and there has also been equally as many discussions over the negative effects the increase can have on similar people. This paper’s purpose is to combine each viewpoint and objectively analyze the arguments for and against an increase in the minimum wage. I will first discuss the benefits for an increase, then the disadvantages, and in the last paragraph, I will

This quote suggests that an important factor of a booming economy is the worker. A simple fact is that the more the worker makes, the more goes into the economy. Moreover, in President Obama’s State of the Union address back in 2013, he notes that raising the minimum wage means that “for businesses across the country, it would mean customers with more money in their pockets” (Luhby 1). This proposes that an increase in the minimum wage helps businesses as well as the worker. As of right now, American people whose sole income is through a minimum wage salary can barely afford to pay for basic needs such as groceries and rent. With not a dollar to spare, every single penny of their already small paycheck goes towards these basic necessities. With an increase in their salary, the more Americans making minimum wage can spend on things outside of their basic necessities, which would in turn help out businesses in America and contribute the economy of the country as a whole.

Barbara Mantel “Minimum Wage” According to Barbara Mantel she point out that nearly 47 million Americans, or 15 percent live in poverty according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Many opponents argue that raising the minimum wage will help many low-wage workers from middle class household who are employed part time many supports say many of those household who are struggling financially and would be group as poor if it was not for the government assistances. Further, many workers who are making minimum wage are employed in the food-services industry than any other according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, many advocated imply that raising the federal minimum wage would help the low-come families by decreasing poverty rate and increase

Over the past few years the debate over the raise of the federal minimum wage of the current $7.25 has been argued by both sides, whether it should be raised or not. With both side, the affirmative and negative making strong arguments for their side. We will take a look at how each side frames their issues as how well their counterpart can refute those claims. The affirmative would like to propose the raise of the federal minimum wage to $12.00 by the year 2020; this is the standard that most states are going with. For example, California being one of the most recent to change their federal minimum wage to $12.00 by the year 2020. The negative would like to stay with the current federal minimum wage of $7.25, in other words defend the status quo. We will look at all the major arguments the affirmative and negative side have and in the end go with the best option for the majority. Aristotle’s three fundamental concepts will help determine what decision should be made after each side of the public state their case. Aristotle’s three fundamental concepts are truth and probable truth, Ethos (Credibility), Pathos (Emotional Appeal), Logos (Logic), and his final concept, it’s all about the audience. So what exactly is the minimum wage and what is its purpose? Minimum wage is the minimum an employer has to pay an unskilled worker based on the regulations set forth by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that was originally established in 1938 according to the United States

A movement to increase the federally mandated minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 has been gaining momentum across the nation in recent months. Although the Senate struck down a bill that would have made the idea a law this past April, studies conducted by top economists and governmental agencies are finding it to be highly beneficial in practice. It has been over five years since the last change in the federal minimum wage, and the government needs to make adjustments for the modern economy. It should take action towards setting the new minimum wage to $10.10, even if in small steps.

The inequality between the employer and the employee is an enormous problem in the United States. The employer pays the employee a wage that is not livable. The Americans earning the minimum wage are forced to have themselves and their families live on a wage that is not livable. The minimum wage in itself is not enough to support a family. The cost of necessary items to live is going up, while the American worker’s wage stagnates. The necessity items that are needed to live on are getting

There has been many conversations about what the positive impacts can come to America 's lowest income workers as a result of an increase in the minimum wage, and there has also been equally as many discussions over the negative effects the increase can have on similar people. This paper’s purpose is to combine each viewpoint and objectively analyze the arguments for and against an increase in the minimum wage. I will first discuss the

    Minimum Wage, also known as the savior of middle class, is defined as the lowest amount the employer legally can pay their workers per hour. The minimum wage law was set to introduce new goals in mind and such laws were created to reinsure that . For instance, the federal law that was originally proposed by Senator Bernie Sanders back in 2015, Pay Workers A Living Wage Act involves a five-part process that will increase the minimum wage each year. It will be indexed into the median hourly wage which will also eliminate the tipped minimum wage. It is difficult to decided whether this law has enough power to be passed, but it has gained enough traction to at least be considered by the congress and Senate. However, the minimum wage controversy has become a topic of discussion for several years now thus turning into a nationwide discussion.  I believe the enforcement of minimum wage would protect the livelihood of workers who are working lower end jobs and living in poverty stricken neighborhoods. Also, the demographic of the workers should not play a factor in those are currently working

Andrew Carnegie once said “Do your duty and a little more and the future will take care of itself.” Carnegie: for better or worse, played an important part in the worker’s rights movement. Some of the very first movements for workers to unionize and protect their jobs came during Carnegie’s time and would mark the very beginning of long and difficult process to achieve worker’s rights that still continue to this day. The minimum wage debate is without a doubt part of these negotiations and has taken the spotlight in recent years. There are two sides to the minimum wage debate: the employees fighting for higher wages who would like to earn enough to keep food on the table for their family, and the employer who is doing what they can to keep

The concerns with increasing minimum wage can be explain in two words, “It’s complicated.” The United States have several problem, but one complicated in particular is what should the hourly minimum wage become since the economic system has changed? Answering this question will change the way an entire nation thrives. According to Laura D’Andrea Tyson (2013) the last several decades have been especially hard on the American workers in jobs that pay the minimum wage. Tyson input in her column that with the proper inflation adjustments the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour today is 23 percent lower than it was in 1968. Consequently, if it had kept up with inflation and with