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Minimum Wage Persuasive Essay

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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 …show more content…

They are not meant to support a family on. The most common type of minimum wage jobs include things like working at fast food restaurants or working as a cashier. Many college graduates start with their first job making close to $15 dollars an hour. Why should someone in an unskilled job, like flipping burgers be making almost as much as someone who went to college and worked hard to get a real career. Our president, Barack Obama, made a statement about wages needing to be raised. His reasoning was that people needed more money so that they can pay their daily expenses, bills, and take care of their families. Similarly, many people in favor of raising minimum wage argue that people need to be paid more so that their children are not raised up in poverty. But isn’t that why people go to college and get a career so that they can make enough money to support their family? Increasing the minimum wage would decrease incentive for people to go to college because they wouldn’t have to try as hard and they could still make a good amount of money even if they didn’t go to college. Minimum wage jobs have always been high school kids jobs, not a family's primary income source. Which leads to the next

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