Minimum Wage : Low Skilled And Young Workers

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

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.

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.

The controversy over what to establish as the official minimum wage in the United States has been debated and argued over for many years. Due to inflation, the gradual increase of pricings due to a saturation of printed currency, the minimum wage for workers has to be increased in order to compensate for the ever-fluctuating value of the U.S. Dollar. Many today are rising to the conclusion that a minimum wage of fifteen dollars an hour is necessary. This motion is designed to keep those who have minimum wage income out of poverty and to increase the amount of money in the consumer’s pocket overall. However, this particular increase in minimum wage will lead to the inevitable downfall of the United States’ economy and be a catastrophe for the working class.

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

Mike Durant once said, “Making it more expensive to create new jobs is a perfect way to guarantee fewer of them.” The recent, “Raise the Wage” campaigns have sparked an interest in many low-wage workers. However, those who support this initiative are unaware of the economic problems that will arise if this is successful. Several cities have already raised their minimum wages and some, like Seattle, are raising it as high as $15 per hour. Currently, supporters of this campaign argue that the government should implement this increase federally. However, doing so will have broad and adverse financial implications. Ever since the Great Depression, the minimum wage has been in effect — to reduce poverty and solidify that

With the minimum wage set at $7.25 dollars per hour many people are struggling to make do. The average cost of living in America is too much for people, who make minimum wage, to make ends meet. It’s thought that raising the minimum wage will have a negative effect on the unemployment rate but there has been no evidence of that. The value of the minimum wage has dropped immensely since 1960. Raising the minimum wage will be beneficial to America and its citizens. In 1968 the minimum wage was equal to $10.74 today. That means in 50 years the purchasing power of the minimum wage has diminished. From the end of WWII upto 1968 minimum wage was on pace with the average worker productivity rate. If this trend was true from 1968 to today and worker

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.

The bill to raise minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $10.10 and hour over a two year period had been thrown around for months, but it does not seem to be passing. Ronald Reagan once said in 1980, “The minimum wage has caused more misery and unemployment than anything since the Great Depression.” This fact may still hold true today as Americans see the effects the debate over minimum wage is having. According to the National Association of Manufacturers the national minimum wage “constitute[d] a step in the direction of communism, bolshevism, fascism, and Nazism.” These negative views of minimum wage also believe that it will, in the end, only destroy the economy, doom American freedom, take jobs, and only hurt the people it is supposed to be helping.

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

An increase in the state’s minimum wages will have a dramatic change in the percentage of unemployment within specific areas, mainly the ones that are generally poor and undeveloped. In reality, it is a common sense to understand that this types of changes will take place since, “when you raise the price of something, in this case labor, less of it will be demanded, or in this case hired”(Neumark). The true nature of this idea can be explained by understanding that the less reachable something become, the more competition will be out there to get it, and once you get it you want the best one, which will be the skilled and experienced workers. In this case, all

Lawmakers believe that lowering the minimum wage for teens to less than adults will help the unemployment of teenagers in the United States. However, I do not agree that this is fair. One reason is that teenagers have to save a lot of money for college. According to the College Board, average tuition at four-year public colleges and universities has increased by 40 percent – or nearly $3,000 – since 2006 (Watkins 23). With tuitions raising, teenagers should be given a higher wage to help pay for college. This does not even include everyday costs that they have and even buying a car. Next, this is discrimination at its finest. We shouldn’t pass laws that reinforce wage discrimination – especially when there’s little evidence to suggest that

In a paper titled “Four Reasons Not to Increase the Minimum Wage,” the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, offers four empirically backed consequences of increasing the minimum wage; these consequences include: the loss of jobs, low skilled workers being disproportionally affected and priced out of the job market, a minimal effect on reducing poverty, and higher prices for goods. The paper compiles a number of studies to support these

Next, the minimum wage is impacting the inequality trends in the United States. One of the causes of the inequality trend is the decline in the minimum wage. DiPrete (2007) stated, “that declines in the minimum wage can explain almost the entire rise in wage inequality during the 1980s, whereas Card and DiNardo found the minimum wage changes explain 90% of the variation in the 90/10 wage ratio during these years.”. Also, low-skill workers are falling in their productivity for the reason that the minimum wage is declining. One of the five reasons why the inequality trend is rising in the United States is the lack of minimum wage, earnings, and income. In the 1980s, people were returning to school since the occupation earnings started to differentiate between the high school educated and the college educated. Without unionization, it is very difficult for low wage workers to get a boost in their wages. Correspondingly, the shifts in supply and demand during the 1980s had influenced companies to boost the inequality wage trend. It is evident that the power of the minimum wage can change the inequality trends of the United States of America (DiPrete, 2007).

Literature in the past shows that the effect of a higher minimum wage will increase poverty. Raising the minimum wage will significantly influence poverty, especially in countries that are undeveloped. As stated in (Gindling,2014), raising the minimum wage will benefit some people, but it will hurt others. The impact of the minimum wage increase relies on the wage distribution, and employment. Lastly, the literature points out that increasing minimum the wage plays a small role in alleviating poverty, thus, it cannot be the only way to lessen poverty. The literature attempts to understand the influence the minimum wage has on poverty for the formal sector and informal sector for ten states in the United States.