Minimum Wage Issue Essay

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.

As a result of the Great Depression, in 1938, the federal minimum wage was put into effect as a part of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The government established the federal minimum wage to ensure that employers were not underpaying their employees, and many states also have set other varying minimum wages as well based on the cost of living in those particular areas. According to the US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, “The federal minimum wage ranged from a low of $3.09 in 1948 to a high of $8.67 an hour in 1968” (Pye, “No we shouldn’t raise the minimum wage”). Also, according to the US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, “The historical average minimum wage was $6.60” (Pye, “No we shouldn’t raise the minimum wage”). Many supporters of raising the minimum wage want to increase our current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour to $15 per hour, which is more than double the average, more than twice the current, and almost twice as much as the all-time high minimum wage. James Sherk, Senior Policy Analyst in Labor Economics, concluded the following from his research: “Congress typically raises the minimum wage only

Osborne v. Ohio, 495 U.S. 103 (1990), is a Supreme Court of the United States case in which the Court held that the First Amendment allows states to outlaw the mere possession, as distinct from the distribution, of child pornography. After Ohio police found photographs in petitioner Osborne's home, each of which depicted a nude male adolescent posed in sexually explicit position, he was convicted of violating a state statute prohibiting any person from possessing or viewing any material or performance showing a minor who is not his child or ward in a state of nudity unless the material or performance is presented for a

Introduction: Poverty is living in situations of having little income to keep up with the current cost of living. Attention Getter/Hook: Why poverty is increased in United States? Background information: Poverty in America has increased because family incomes are affected by weak labor markets, both through job loss and through hours and wage cuts for those who have work. Poverty affects millions of people worldwide, including families and individuals in the United States.

How come lets say in this state you get paid $3.00 and at a different state but same job you get paid 8.00$. It's not fair that people get paid more in different states for the same job.

Investing in employees is the single most important investment that a company can make. A lot of Americans are now in deep poverty, or have a huge amount of debt to catch up too. With the thought of that, in the United States today, millions of Americans are living on the federal minimum wage of $7.25. For this case, it is necessary that there is a need for an increase in the federal minimum wage because it would be much more beneficial to both the economy of the United States and to individual workers because more Americans need spending power, higher minimum wage will help close the wide gap between the wealthy and the poor, and the working poor need to protect themselves in case something goes wrong.

$7.25 equals two gallons of gas, one fast food meal, or a simple school supply. With the minimum wage at the current rate you must work one hour to earn the seven dollars and twenty-five cents that only supply you with small necessities for everyday living. This problem was encountered before and was resolved with the agreement to higher the minimum wage from $5.85 to the current $7.25. Although that was a big increase in salaries, was it truly enough? This controversy can lead to a major change in everyone’s everyday lives and boost our economy to a period of prosperity. The minimum wage should be increased to bring our economy out of a recession, bring families together,

Most people have witnessed firsthand driving through a densely populated city and glancing out the window to see camps set up on the streets for people who cannot afford living quarters. These poor citizens are living like this because they either do not earn enough money annually to keep a home and use what they have on a source of food. Increasing federal wage to $10.25 would help these poor American citizens and the children in America as well.

The selling point that has brought people to the United States for centuries is the American dream: Prosperity, Luxury, Opportunity, and so on. Unfortunately for many, this dream has been squandered by the receding economy of an indebted country. As inflation runs rampant, the value of the U.S. dollar decreases, lowering the value of household and business incomes. This economic recession has led many, especially those who only earn the minimum wage, to poverty. According to the United States Department of Labor, “The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour” (“Wage and Hour Division”). Some people believe that a solution to this problem is to raise the minimum wage; however, doing so would ultimately result in a negative effect on the

⭐The minimum wage in the US is $7.25 an hour, and in more than 25 states it is even higher! This is a big problem and even though some think that raising the minimum wage is good economics, it actually would ruin the economy and many of the US citizens’ lives. This is because increasing the minimum wage would have negative effects like food price increases, loss of job opportunities, and less incentive for a higher education.

Where to set the minimum wage has been a huge debate topic for years. The smallest increase or decrease can have a large overall impact on the economy. Do you think the minimum wage in California should be raised to $15 an hour? This is a question many in my home state are currently asking. California’s current wage is $9/hr., and the federal government is raising it to $10/hr. in January 2016. It may seem like common sense that if you have a higher minimum wage, then there will be less poverty. This is what I first thought when looking at this issue. However, Holtz-Eakin observed that a vast majority of minimum wage workers are in fact not living in poverty (Deutsch). Many minimum wage workers are not living under the poverty line, but simply

The United States has a history of changes to the minimum wage law. “Early in the administration of the FLSA (Fair labor Standards Act); it became apparent that application of the statutory minimum wage was likely to produce undesirable effects upon the economies of Puerto Rico and the Virgin islands .In 1949, the minimum wage was raised from 40 cents and hours to 75 cents an hour for all workers. A 1955 amendment increased the minimum wage to $1.00 an hour with no changes in coverage. The minimum wage increased to $2.00 an hour in 1974, and $2.10 in 1975, and $

The minimum wage in the United States has been an ongoing controversy for many years now. The first minimum wage was established in 1938 (Reich, 2015, P. 3). That minimum wage started out at .25 cents an hour; compared to today’s higher wage of a government standard of $7.25 an hour. Many people believe that the minimum wage should be more so that those who live below the poverty level in the United States will decrease, however in many other people’s opinions the minimum wage should be the same. The minimum wage should stay the same at a low $7.25.

The national minimum wage was introduced in the UK in April 1999 by the Labour government. Essentially it formed a major part of their manifesto as it convinced the average population that Labour were beneficial for everybody. However, they would argue against classical economics and suggest there are wide spread benefits to be gained. The main argument is that the NMW would alleviate poverty across the country.

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?