Minimum Wage Needs A Change

To begin, there is an extensive debate over whether if the U.S were to raise minimum wage, could it really help the working poor of low income families. Nancy Cook, in her article from the National Journal, “Why a Minimum-Wage Hike Can’t Help the Poor”, she points out that two thirds of around 100 surveys from 2007 had a negative effect and that it does more for the middle class than the lower one. (p.14). So, therefore, from her

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.

Although America is known as the richest country in the world, 43 million of its citizens are in poverty. Unfortunately, some of them work full time, yet are still in poverty due to the low minimum wage (“Should We Raise”). In 1928, the first federal minimum wage of 25 cents per hour was set by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to prevent workers from being underpaid. Since 2009, the federal minimum wage has been $7.25 (Smith). The age old debate of whether or not to raise it is still going on in the US. The federal minimum wage should be increased to keep up with inflation, help support the poor, and stimulate the economy.

Raising the minimum wage is a very important public policy issue. Raising the minimum wage is a responsible policy that is supported by research and demanded by the American public. Each day, minimum wage workers across the country struggle to make ends meet and provide a decent life for their kids (Scott & Perez, 2016). Raising the minimum wage is a controversial issue, many believe that raising the minimum wage would only provide low wage workers more money to spend. However, the benefits can be endless for low wage workers. If minimum wage is increased across the United States it would afford the people effected more opportunities for financial freedom. Increasing the minimum wage would raise the standard of living for low wage workers, allow families to be removed from poverty, allow for government welfare spending to be reduced and lastly additional income being spent would positively affect the economy.

Inflation has also been one of the signature conflicts of raising the minimum wage. In the past 5 to six years, the inflations levels have been at 1.5 percent (CNN money). By raising the minimum wage, should not increase inflation but help it maintain its current state. When adjusted for inflation, the current federal minimum wage would need to be more than $8 per hour to equal its purchasing power of the early 1980s and more nearly $11 per hour to equal its buying power of the late 1960s (U.S dept. Labor). That 's why President Obama is urging Congress to increase the federal minimum wage and give low-wage workers a much-needed boost.

The current minimum wage is $7.25, which equals two gallons of milk, one fast food meal or two gallons of gas. Can you imagine yourself working 12-hours a day and only having enough money to pay for rent and put food on the table for your family? With working all those long hours, you can barely afford to pay your utility bills and after that you don’t have enough money or time for luxuries like clothing or vacation. You have no savings as matter of fact, you are in a huge debt and you are living paycheck to paycheck. This is the story of millions of American worker, who are employed on minimum wage. The shocking part about this story is that million of Americans would be saved from this poverty life, if the American government raises the minimum wage. This would not only help the workers, but also the economy because raising the minimum wage would put extra money in the pocket of minimum wage worker and extra spending would help restore consumer spending.

On July 24th, 2009, the United States of America raised the minimum wage to $7.25. However, six years later the minimum wage rage remains the same. It is time once again for the federal government to raise the minimum wage to spur the economy. Raising the minimum wage would help the American economy and the daily life of the citizens for a variety of reasons. The first topic is that it not only would help the people but it also would help the economy as a whole. The second topic is that companies are already raising the minimum wage because of the lack of money workers get. Finally the third supporting idea is that the states are also raising it over the federal minimum wage and also how can help poverty. There are many more topics on why the minimum wage should be raised but these reasons are the most important.

"In fact, data from CPS suggests that the majority of poor families with heads of household of prime working age simply don’t work, so a minimum wage has no impact on these families." (Durden). The correlation between minimum wage and low-income families is weak. There are alternatives that could be more economically efficient for low-income families. It would be a delusion to think that raising the minimum wage would be the most economically efficient way to help low-income families.

Raising the federal minimum wage allows individuals to be able to provide for themselves and their families without the need for some type of government assistance. One report explains that families with workers only earning minimum wage rely on those workers for 59% of the families’ total earnings (Fox). Many people associate minimum wage jobs as starter jobs for high school students, but the reality is that the number of college graduates working in minimum wage jobs has more than doubled over the past five years. The majority of people who are earning minimum wage are

Those who are content with raising a family on minimum wage will fail themselves and their family by not making themselves better. Additionally, those employers who report millions and billions in annual profits and continue to pay their workers minimum wage are being greedy, and greater pressure put on the employers to pay a better wage. As the minimum wage rate edges, closer to union pay and state and federal pay scales, it will force the entire country into a labor dispute. Those with a college education or a trade will not continue to work alongside someone with no qualifications and earn the same pay. American companies paying minimum wage in high poverty nations would be overpaying the local nations as they have no experience and the work force pool size to be scarce. Those entering into the workforce deserve minimum wage and this would allow employers to train and employ more workers to fill positions requiring experience. Lastly, those choosing to not better themselves through education, and live on minimum wage is creating a bigger burden for everyone

There is not one state in the US where a minimum wage worker can afford a two-bedroom unit at fair market rent, working a standard 40-hour work week(There are a few states where this is not true. Also, the fair market rent is the average cost. It doesn 't reflect the super expensive and bottom rent places). The federal minimum wage would be $10.86 [per hour] if it had kept up with inflation over the past 40 years. Instead, it is $7.25 [per hour]. Every state in the US should have the minimum wage raised to $10.86 per hour(passive, rewrite). The cost of living has increased(s) dramatically every year(,) so why shouldn’t we raise the minimum wage.(?) The value of the minimum wage has fallen by almost 50 cents since it was last increased in 1991(Fact check; the Federal minimum wage was raised in 2007 to 6.35 an hour, up from it 's 1991 rate of $5.15 per hour, and again in 2009 to $7.25 per hour). Living expenses are increasing so fast that more people are falling into the category of “lower class”. Author Tom Dickinson writes, “A family of four trying to live on the earning of a minimum-wage worker-- $15,080 a year—falls more than $8,000 below the poverty line” (Dickinson 33). (Transitional sentence?)

By raising the minimum wage millions of workers would see an improvement of their lives because they will finally have more money to be able to spend on themselves. In article one it talks through and states how “11 million workers above minimum wage will see and increase through “spillover”.” This shows that by increasing the minimum wage, workers that are already at that level would see a bonus within their pay. Another quote from article one is “the new minimum wage would affect families, disproportionally women who work 20 hours.” This shows that families, would be the first to feel the effect and also help families whose parents have to work overtime. In general, raising the minimum wage is very beneficial for families and female workers who work at or around 20 hours a week.

I don’t think the minimum wage should be raised. While low, raising the minimum wage would not necessarily have just positive effects, it would have negative effects as well. If it is raised jobs would decrease. There is a set amount of money and raising the minimum wage would not help the workers at all. The topic of minimum wage should be left between the employees and the employers, the people it really affects. It should be up to the employee to work as hard as they can and up to the employer to pay them for the job they have done. Some say that the minimum wage should be lowered, they tend to argue that with the amount the employees earn being so low they have to work extra jobs just to make a living. What they don’t see is that with a

In todays back and forth economy it has become increasingly more difficult for a person to support a family, much less themselves, solely on the income from a minimum wage job. With federal minimum wage sitting just over seven dollars an hour, those tasked with budgeting these kind of meager earnings have begun to question why they dont deserve more pay. Some states have their own laws with discretion over minimum wage pay, and 29 states and DC all currently have minimum wage standards higher than the federal standard, but not necessarily by much. Those working labor jobs, where minimum wage is the compensation they receive for their time and energy, are struggling to afford such basic necessities as housing and food, even when they work

One advantage of raising the minimum wage is the economic stimulus which can lead to an increase in job opportunities. If minimum wage workers can spend more, then businesses can earn more and therefore will need to hire more employees to keep up with the rise in business. Another advantage is the reduced expense for social programs. Many of the people earning the minimum wage are also those relying on the support of government run social programs. With higher wages, many people would be able to support themselves without heavily relying on social programs, which would lead to lower taxes or a reallocation of the funds to support other needs. Many employees who are comfortable and satisfied with their wages are less likely to quit, so an increase in minimum