Minimum Wage History Essay

My topic of interest is the effects of raising minimum wage in the U.S. Minimum wage is defined as the lowest wage permitted by law or by special agreement. In 1938, President Roosevelt signed a bill called the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which set the minimum wage at $0.25. Although, overtime inflation devalued the amount of the dollar so it was raised there on. After raising the minimum wage the cost of living would keep going up every year. Also, currently advocates are arguing that the living wage should be 125% above the poverty line so that full time workers can afford a living.

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?

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.

The case against raising the minimum wage is very simple: a higher wage will make it more difficult and expensive to companies to hire workers. What will be the consequences on the economy? Well, companies won’t be able to pay all of its workers which will lead to more unemployment. At the end, people who keep their job will have a higher profit, however those who lose their job will suffer.

The first federal minimum wage mandated by the government was in 1938. When the first minimum wage became law in 1938, it was set at just 25 cents. Today, the federal minimum wage mandated by the government is set at $7.25 an hour. “Many states have their own set minimum wages, which are currently above $7.25 per hour already. Currently, 29 states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) have minimum wages above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. D.C. 's new wage of $10.50 an hour makes it the first jurisdiction to cross the $10 threshold among the states,” (Halvorson). The last time that the federal minimum wage mandated by the government was changed was over 8 years ago. “The last time Congress voted to raise the minimum wage to its current rate of $7.25 an hour was on May 24, 2007. Since then, the cost of life 's essentials has shot up. Groceries cost 20% more, a gallon of gas costs 25% more, and average tuition at a community college increased 44%. But the minimum wage remains at

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.

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

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.

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

In 1938, the first national minimum wage laws in the United States were passed as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which served as “a floor below wages,” to reduce poverty and to ensure that economic growth is shared across the workforce. Today, many people who work for companies that pay at or near the minimum wage and remain near or below the poverty level rely on government health and food security and income programs to supplement their living expenses. Since 1938, there have been many additional policies to the Fair Labor Standards Act that have changed many things, such as increasing the national minimum wage numerous times to the currently salary level, which was set in 1997. The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 was a policy to change the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 in three additions, which began in July of 2009. (http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/minwagebwp.pdf)

U.S. Congress passed the federal minimum wage law in 1938 as part of their Fair Labor Standards Act. Federal minimum wages were intended to ensure fair wages were paid to an alarming amount of women and youths employed and paid substandard wages. This also seems to be the case today, where countless Americans who work full time, cannot make ends meet by making minimum wage. Evidence shows that raising the minimum wage would drive consumer spending, thus producing faster macroeconomic growth. Wage stagnation is one of the key things holding back our economy from growing the way we need it to.

The history of the Federal minimum wage dates to 1938 when then President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed “the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)” into law (History of Minimum Wage). Franklin Delano Roosevelt signing the FLSA into law made sure that no American could be paid less than the federal minimum wage. The initial minimum wage was set at twenty-five cents an hour back in 1938. However, prior to Franklin Delano Roosevelt signing the Fair Labor Standards Act into law there was not any “national minimum wage, or…legislation to protect workers from exploitation. [Due to] lack of regulation tens of thousands of workers were routinely exploited in sweatshops and factories…for pennies a week” (Minimum-Wage.org). Which made covering day to day

The federal government issued the fair  labor standards act. This act made it so all employers were required by law to pay their workers a minimum pay of $0.25 at that time. Minimum wage was also made to help the people as stated in the article, “Purpose of minimum wage”.Written by the labor law center, the minimum wage payment would be enough for an employe to afford basic needs of living. It was said that minimum not only prevents poverty but overcomes it. Each  state has their own minimum wage but it can’t be lower than  the national minimum wage of $7.25. States have their own minimum wage because not all states have the same cost of living. So minimum wage was created in  1938 as a way to overcome poverty, provide enough money for basic needs and be a fair amount of pay for employees throughout

In 1938, the first national minimum wage laws in the United States were passed as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which served as “a floor below wages,” to reduce poverty and to ensure that economic growth is shared across the workforce. Today, many people who work for companies that pay at or near the minimum wage and remain near or below the poverty level rely on government health and food security and income programs to supplement their living expenses. Since 1938, there have been many additional policies to the Fair Labor Standards Act that have changed many things, such as increasing the national minimum wage numerous times to the currently salary level, which was set in 1997. The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, from the United States Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, was a policy to change the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 in three additions, which began in July of 2009. (U.S., 2009).

The minimum wage has arguably become the most controversial topic regarding our economy today, as it influences one of the largest classes of people within the United States, the working class. Federally, the minimum wage has not been raised in eight years, so it has stayed at $7.25 per hour for all non-exempt workers (U.S. DoL). The opinions on this topic are typically split across a progressive-conservative line, with progressives being in favor of a raise from $7.25, and conservatives wanting to stay at the current rate. This can be seen when looking at the typical progressive stances from states and municipalities that raise the minimum wage for businesses operating within their jurisdiction, since the higher rate among all levels of