Minimum Wage During The Great Depression

“The minimum wage is the minimum hourly wage an employer can pay an employee for work. Currently, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour (part of the Fair Labor Standards Act) and some states and cities have raised their minimum wage even higher than that.” minimum wage was first introduced during the great depression in 1930s. Before it was introduced thousands of people were forced to work in horrible conditions for pennies a week. Early attempts on minimum wage was ruled unconstitutional by the U.S supreme court, because it restricted people from deciding what they wanted to pay their workers. So employers still made there workers, work in horrible condition through the great depression. Now that poverty is a huge national issue. President Franklin D. Roosevelt made sure he would protect workers it was part of his mission as the president of the united states of america. After being reelected in 1936 he signed the FLSA in 1938. Which put into place a national minimum wage of 25 cents an hour. After the law was passed the minimum wage was changed almost every couple of years because the cost of living is very high. In 1997 bill clinton allowed states to make there own minimum wage. Today the minimum wage is 7.25/hour there is continuing debate over whether that 's a fair amount of money to support someone there days. Labor activists want the government to raise it while other point out the negative effects it would have on the

One of the most talked about subjects in the U.S economy is the topic of minimum wage. With president Obama’s increase in the minimum wage to 10.10$ per hour people, both economists and politicians alike, have been debating whether raising the bar is a smart idea. At a time when the country the country’s inflation continues to rise at a steady pace and Americans are constantly working to feed their families, some economists know that a raise in the minimum wage would help elevate some of the difficulty. The last time the federal minimum wage was raised was in July of 2009, where rose from 6.55$ to 7.25$. However, there are plenty of reasons as to why the wage should be raised. Some may not think it, but raising the

The minimum wage was established in the United States by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 at 25 cents per hour. These laws are broadly supported by the public. Congress enacted these rules to combat “labor conditions detrimental to the maintenance of the minimum standard of living necessary for health, efficiency, and the general well-being of the workers” (Sharp, 2013 p. 71). The purpose and intent of

One source from the Opposing Viewpoints Database called, “Raising Minimum Wage Increases Unemployment” argues against the minimum wage by suggesting it will decrease financial security and cause higher unemployment rates. The author provides unemployment statistics from the 1990s onward as evidence to argue against the minimum wage. The article says, “In 1990, Congress enacted another minimum wage increase.” “The month before the increase took effect, unemployment was 5.2%.” “With the increase, unemployment began to steadily increase and unemployment eventually peaked at 7.8%” (Jaarda). The article emphasizes to readers that increases in minimum wages and following increases in unemployment are not just coincidences by continuingly pointing at similar statistics throughout history.

Minimum wage is an important and hot topic throughout the world, especially America. The minimum wage is the lowest amount of salary that an employer can give to their employees for their work. The federal minimum wage is covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act, also known as FLSA. The FLSA covers standards for government, local, and state employees, including overtime pay and record keeping. This protects the rights of the employers. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, FDR, was the first president to establish the idea of minimum wage in 1938 due to the economic downfall of the Great Depression. (“History of Minimum Wage”) The Great Depression was a huge recession for the economy and for the people. Since FDR applied the minimum wage, the minimum wage keeps increasing over the years. According to Bebusinnessed website, the first year with minimum started at twenty-five cents an hour, which is equal to around four dollars and fifteen cents in USD in present currency (“History of Minimum Wage”). Over time and many presidents later, in 2016, our lowest minimum wage is seven dollars and twenty-five cents. From the numbers presented on this website, the minimum wage seems to be increasing and getting better with time, but in fact, the government is not to kept up with the current “real” dollar amount. Nowadays, parent employees cannot fully support their children. The real question, in our society, should minimum wage be increased or decreased in order to fulfill both the government

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

Since the beginning of minimum wage during the Great Depression, the discussion of the how much minimum wage should be has always been occurring. Currently there is a strong push for the minimum wage to be raised, especially as Americans compare the current American rate to other countries’ rates. The New York Times recently reported that unionized Danish fast-food workers are paid more than twice as much as the average fast-food worker in America, and the Danish workers also receive benefits and paid vacation (Salz par. 2). Salz in his article, “Invitation to a Dialogue: A Challenge to America,” begs America to change its minimum wage rate so as to better take care of Americans. What Salz fails to take into account is the context of the comparison of rates along with the purpose of minimum wage when it was created, the effects of raising the minimum wage, and looking at the costs involved.

On Saturday, June 25, 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed 121 bills. Among these bills was a landmark law in the United States’ social and economic development—Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) or otherwise known as the Wages and Hours Bill. This new law created a maximum forty-four hour workweek, guaranteed “time-and-a-half” for overtime hours in certain jobs, banned oppressive child labor, and established the nation’s first minimum wage. By definition, a minimum wage is the lowest wage permitted by law or by a special agreement (such as one with a labor union). Throughout the years, the minimum wage has been a central debate topic for the socioeconomic world and now in 2014, the debate has broken through the surface once

Raising the minimum wage would establish 85,000 new jobs and would also increase amass household spending by $48 billion the following year (“Should the Federal”). There are no signals shown that a boost in the minimum wage would lower employment. Even though people argue that the authors found “Little or no evidence of negative association

Between the year of nineteen twenty-nine and nineteen thirty-nine, The United States went through one of the worst economic downturn’s known as the Great Depression. The effects of the Great Depression caused many economic problems which sent wall street into a chaos. Ever since then Poverty has struck many middle and poor class families for years. Over time it has separated many families and caused those who are less fortunate to drain the wealthy. The minimum wage was created to keep many lives going. Although this is the case, minimum wage does not keep many people afloat, it has proven to be an issue and these wages need to be increased. Increasing minimum wage would increase economic activity, reduce poverty, and reduce government welfare spending. Fixing all of these will positively increase the economy and resolve our countries resounding debt.

For over a decade, many Americans have struggled with the low wage issued from employers, despite working very long hours of work. According to a study done in Oregon State University, a federal minimum wage was first set in 1938, starting at 25 cents an hour. Due to inflation that has occurred many times throughout the century, the call for raising minimum wage is to be immediately answered. However, the minimum wage falls when congress does not raise the minimum wage to keep up with inflation. Because of this many cities and states have departed from the minimum wage. In this essay, to be discussed is the reason why imposing a minimum wage above the equilibrium wage will reduce employment and contribute to an increase in the unemployment rate.

One of the most frequently asked questions in our country today, seems to be: “Will I have enough money to live comfortably?” With the ever growing population in America good sustainable jobs are getting harder and harder to find. Many people are settling with low paying, mindless jobs, with no chances of growth, were they are getting paid minimum wage. But, what is minimum wage? Is it a law to help people get more money or it is a law that makes it harder for unskilled workers to find jobs? The real question is; what real effects doesn’t minimum wage have on us? In the mid-20s and 30s factory and mining jobs in America were dreadful places to work at. People working were forced to work long hours for slave wages, never enough to support their families. To help support their families, children very commonly were forced to work, making less than the average America male at the time while doing just as dangerous or more dangerous jobs. On June 25, 1938 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act or the FLSA. When it was first signed it was only meant to cover only one fifth of the jobs in America, the manufacturing, mining, and transportation industries. It set the minimum hourly wage to $0.40 per hour and limited the number of hours’ person can work to 40 hours per week. In addition, it banned the use of child labor in the work place and set the minimum working age to 16 years of age. (Grossman, Jonathan) Today minimum wage has expanded to every job in

In response to many businesses paying their workers the smallest amount possible, President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country”. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the president of the United States during the Great Depression and through his New Deal, which incorporated the first federal minimum wage, he strengthened the economy. In 1938 the minimum wage was only 25 cents but this was a much more livable wage compared to what many large companies were previously paying (“The New Deal”). The minimum wage has been raised twenty-two times since then, and it

Umesh Regmi Dr. Lisa Moody English 101 Section 54 22 November 2014 Time for a Raise “A family with two kids that earns the minimum wage still lives below the poverty line. That’s wrong. Tonight, let’s declare that in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full time should have to live in poverty.” —President Barack Obama. For the purpose of keeping America out of poverty and increase consumer purchasing power in order to simulate the economy, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the law of minimum wage on June 25, 1938 as a part of the Fair labor Standards Act of 1938. The first minimum wage was $0.25 an hour, which is equivalent to $4.18 in today’s dollars. Started from $0.25 an hour, the minimum wage was raised to $7.25 per hour on July 24, 2009. Although the minimum wage has been increased to $7.25 an hour, the value of it has fallen sharply over the past forty years. In 1968, the federal minimum wage was $1.60 an hour, which translates to $10.90 in 2013 dollars. One of the most important reasons behind declaring the minimum wage law is to ensure that even the lowest-paid workers would receive an adequate level of pay. Adjusted for inflation, the minimum wage raise in 2009 was way lower than it was in 1968. The law that promises to pay its workers sufficient money for their living has failed in past decades. In order to adjust the minimum wage to the inflation, to improve the living standard of the people, and to boost the overall economy of the country,

Proponents of raising the minimum wage claim that if the minimum wage was raised, then many economic and social problems would be alleviated. This contention is at odds both with economic principles and years of creditable research. The effect of raising or even having a minimum wage has been studied extensively and the majority of studies have proven that raising a minimum wage does not have the desired effect. Both micro and macroeconomic forces affect the results of raising the minimum wage. The secondary effects of raising the minimum wage are bad both for