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Minimum Wage Should Be Raised Essay

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A reoccurring topic in most political debates is whether minimum wage should be raised or not. Many say $7.25 is simply not enough for a family to survive in our economy. President Obama has taken a strong stance on this topic encouraging congress to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour considering we live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Obama argues that one working full time can simply not afford to raise a family on $15,000 a year. Typically, Democrats will side with our president and argue that raising the wage is a good idea, white Republicans will disagree saying minimum wage will destroy business and hurt working class families. Some may see this as a political issue, but I say this topic is simply common sense. Minimum wage should not be raised due to higher labor costs and a higher volume of unemployment.
On June 25, 1938 President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Fair Labor Standards Act is a law made to establish a federal minimum wage, overtime pay, and youth employment standards. Since 1938 the federal minimum wage has been raised 22 times. States are allowed to set their own individual minimum wage laws, and under the Fair Labor Standards Act, employers are required to abide by state wage laws. According to The Negative Effects of Minimum Wage Laws “Currently forty-five states and the District of Columbia have individually set their own minimum wage, of which eighteen are higher than $7.25 an hour. Only five

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