Minimum Wage Research Paper

Many Americans work solely to pay for food, electricity, and housing. In response to this “nearly 30 states have raised their minimum wage to combat job loss, poverty, and economic inflation.” (http://www.pewresearch.org). This just goes to show that more than two thirds of the country are willing to raise their wages, because the local government thinks that it is absolutely necessary in order to allow people to live sustainably. States such as California have raised their wages up to as high as $15.00! Raising the minimum wage has helped many people begin to start to live healthy lives, and it provides a way for families to expend for necessities if they work at or near minimum wage,

“The minimum wage is the minimum hourly wage an employer can pay an employee for work. Currently, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour (part of the Fair Labor Standards Act) and some states and cities have raised their minimum wage even higher than that.” minimum wage was first introduced during the great depression in 1930s. Before it was introduced thousands of people were forced to work in horrible conditions for pennies a week. Early attempts on minimum wage was ruled unconstitutional by the U.S supreme court, because it restricted people from deciding what they wanted to pay their workers. So employers still made there workers, work in horrible condition through the great depression. Now that poverty is a huge national issue. President Franklin D. Roosevelt made sure he would protect workers it was part of his mission as the president of the united states of america. After being reelected in 1936 he signed the FLSA in 1938. Which put into place a national minimum wage of 25 cents an hour. After the law was passed the minimum wage was changed almost every couple of years because the cost of living is very high. In 1997 bill clinton allowed states to make there own minimum wage. Today the minimum wage is 7.25/hour there is continuing debate over whether that 's a fair amount of money to support someone there days. Labor activists want the government to raise it while other point out the negative effects it would have on the

There are a lot of people around the world who struggle with money and a satisfactory way of life. Whether they be in the United States or across the globe, there is a standard minimum wage set for the working class of their country. In the Unites States, there is a federal minimum wage of seven dollars and twenty five cents per hour worked. Almost every state has another set minimum wage, which typically is a little higher than the federal minimum wage, but it cannot be lower than seven dollars and twenty five cents. Countries set minimum wage laws, to ensure there is a basic quality of life amongst its citizens. As the minimum wage goes up in certain states, the quality of life also improves. The problem with a higher minimum wage, is now people are getting paid higher for entry level jobs which are meant for teenagers and people new to the workforce. If the minimum wage keeps increasing across the country, teenagers and young adults will have a much more difficult time finding jobs.

When there are millions of Americans living at or below poverty lines, something has to be done. Billion dollar companies and businesses that employ workers, paying them low wages is hurting the economy. The reality is, unless the minimum wage is raised, the cycle will only continue. With higher minimum wages in place, the entire country does better and, therefore, should be raised. There needs to be laws put place to raise the minimum wage. Doing so would boost the economy with all of the money that Americans would put into it. With higher minimum wages, millions of Americans can get out of poverty, not having to rely on the government for assistance such as food stamps, public housing, child care, and health care needs. They can afford better housing options in which they want to live. Communities would see less crimes in neighborhoods creating a safer environment. Aside from that, Americans can afford a good education, health care, as well as healthier eating and exercising habits.

In 1938 congress instituted minimum wage with 25 cents an hour being the first wage. After 78 years seven dollars has been the increase of minimum wage, stated by the article listed on, Heritage.org . Every year the cost of living and surviving in this country increases. You would think after 78 years, minimum wage would not be at $7.25. Many college students work part-time jobs that pays minimum wage to have some extra cash in their pockets or pay a few minor bills. Having a part time job is perfectly fine in college, but imagine not being in college, working a minimum wage job. Lets be honest, the pay checks are no where near what you would like them to be or it isn 't enough to cover everything that you want or need. So, imagine not being in college, working a full time job, with rent, children, car note, insurance, and etc. Many adults work minimum wage jobs, barely making it to provide for themselves and their kids. Your probably thinking, "maybe those people should go back to school or look for a better job.” Yes, that is true but for most people, its too late. A better job requires a degree, most people have kids and cant afford to take a couple of hours off or get someone to watch their kids while they attend school, so a minimum wage job is the only option. So, to make a better life for the struggling parents and the needy college students, increasing the minimum wage is a must for various reasons which include decreasing poverty, increasing health, and relieving

Also depending on where you live and how fast you grow, you will need to buy a variation of clothes for the winter and summer. With a family of four, it is almost incapable of happening. An average article of clothing cost anywhere between $15-30 for one piece. That is more than 2 hours of work. Imagine that, plus only getting an average of $290 a week. That will not last very long, which is very irritating to some people because they don’t want to let their family down, but raising minimum wage will help that tremendously. Another example that could take place is in an emergency like needing to stay late for work, and needing someone to babysit your kids. Many people cannot afford to do that with such little pay and have no choice but to leave work on time. With that happening and many not staying, that could cause them to lose their job, resulting in more poverty. To continue, minimum wage was created to stimulate the economy in 1938 (Sonn, Temple 1). Once minimum wage became a policy in the United States, it was successful in stimulating the economy when it was created because the federal minimum (if adjusted for inflation) was higher than today. Over the past 40 years, the power of minimum wage has fallen sharply. Minimum wage now, is about ⅔ percent of its previous power. The annual salary of a full-time American worker employed at $7.25 per hour is $15,080, which is less

Have you ever thought about feeding a family and paying the necessary bills on $7.25 per hour? If you answer “no,” then think about this. With this type of salary you could not cover your rent in most parts of the United States, much less feed your family. In this day and time this feat cannot be achieved without raising the minimum wage. If our current government does not raise the minimum wage than a person earning minimum wage would need to work two or three jobs just to keep up with inflation.

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.

This has been a discussion for the ages. The debate over raising the minimum wage has been a hot topic. Raising minimum wage would reduce poverty, be better for lower paid workers, and to reduce expense for social programs.

The federal minimum wage law was signed in 1938 by President Franklin Roosevelt in order to keep people out of poverty and increase consumer purchasing power. This has done the opposite by hurting businesses and reducing employment, while minimum wages go up, so will the costs of living. Most of the people working for minimum wage are 16 between 24 years old, 37% of workers are going to school working part time. Enrollment tuition has increased over the years, and raising the minimum wage could mean further increasing expenses. But, for people who aren 't pursuing an education and begin working right out of school, the federal minimum wage $7.25 looks like it can be hard to live on. Raising the minimum wage would most likely increase with the cost of living, making cost of living or tuition even more expensive, making it harder to pay for groceries or bills. Just because someone starts out at a minimum wage job, doesn 't mean they can 't progress through the company and earn a better wage over the years. Minimum wages are more for entry level paying jobs that don 't require any certain set of skills to be able to do what they ask. Maintaining the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 will help stop rise of inflation.

The minimum tipped wage should be raised. There are many reasons that an incease is due. The tipped minimum wage has been the same since 1991. And yet, the cost of living continues to rise. It has risen by 75% in the past 27 years due to inflation.

When you see fully capable men or women asking for handouts or taking advantage of others accomplishments, it triggers frustration and anger but you can still go about with your daily life. When you see your favorite restaurants or establishments closed because they cannot up keep their workers’ wages that the state induced, now it becomes infuriating. Society tend to better their lives through trade skills, years of education, personal development, perseverance, and hard work in order to reach success. The moment we adopt new laws in order to meet the demands that minimum wage is not sufficient, is when we start seeing the economic collapse that will take tenfold the time to repair than it did to create. Adopting these new laws will influence

Minimum wage is the lowest wage paid or permitted to be paid (1). Americans have been debating raising minimum wage for years. The people that want the raise in pay believe that it will help workers who are not as qualified and need a salary they can support themselves on. The people who do not want the raise realize the damaging effects it will have on this country. These jobs do not require a great amount of skill so having a low pay is understandable. Minimum wage jobs were not created for people to support themselves and a family with. Raising minimum wage would hurt Americans more than help them because in the end prices of goods will increase and people will lose their jobs.

In response to many businesses paying their workers the smallest amount possible, President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country”. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the president of the United States during the Great Depression and through his New Deal, which incorporated the first federal minimum wage, he strengthened the economy. In 1938 the minimum wage was only 25 cents but this was a much more livable wage compared to what many large companies were previously paying (“The New Deal”). The minimum wage has been raised twenty-two times since then, and it

The government sets minimum wage at what they think an average person needs to live a healthy life, but is minimum wage isn't really enough to support a person. Minimum wage does not change with inflation, and prices have gone up since the last time minimum wage was changed on July 5, 2009. People get paid minimum wage, which is what the government says should be enough to cover the costs of living for a person, but for those living on minimum wage, hunger and malnutrition are a big problem, even with government and public assistance like SNAP (The Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program) and housing assistance programs.