Minimum Wage Vs Living Wage

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Contrary to belief, the minimum wage is not a livable wage because housing and basic necessities exceed the amount that the average person in America makes. According to Carey Nadue on ¨Minimum wage: Can an individual or a Family live on it?¨ In most states in the US, minimum wage is not liveable by a Family. In order for the minimum wage to be liveable for a family of four, both parents would need to work 2 full-time jobs simultaneously. A single parent would have to work 3 and a half full-time jobs in order to have all the basic necessities.(Carey Nadeau.Minimum Wage:Can an individual or Family Live on it?.)

The City of Los Angeles passed a living wage ordinance that resulted in headaches for many employers. It also provided the opportunity for a number of potential plaintiffs to consider taking their employers to court for failing to provide said living wage (including overtime pay) that is required according to the new living wage ordinance as well as California labor laws pertaining to overtime pay in the state.

In this article, the author discusses the significance of living wages for workers in the US. The author explains that over the past decades, families have been unable to keep in stride with the cost of living, due to low income. While jobs are being created, they do not provide sufficient wages for many families. Additionally, due to the requirements of some federal assistance programs, individuals must accept these employments, regardless of pay. As the economy has grown, the wages remains the same and many minimum wage earners fall below the poverty line.

Minimum wage is different for everyone depending on where they reside and their occupation. We aren't even the only government debating this topic. Many other countries are also facing the minimum wage controversy ("Minimum Wage"). Other parts of

According to the Department of Labor, our federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. With this statistic, that measures to the average 40 hour per week worker earning just over fifteen thousand dollars per year, falling well under federal poverty guidelines for a single person in the United States. What this means to working class people is that we as a country value their labor, but not the worker behind the labor. With regard to those working-class people who are paid our current minimum wage, the vast majority (9 out of 10) are over the age of twenty, and almost half of those workers are women. Since the last minimum wage increase in 2009,

The current minimum wage in the United States is a wage which Americans cannot live on. Americans are forced to live in poor living conditions because of the low wages they earn. The low wages workers earn result in poor healthcare because they cannot afford the proper treatment. The minimum wage leaves little, if any, for any unexpected expenses. The minimum wage in America affects American workers trying to make ends meet. The minimum wage needs to be raised and changed to the living wage.

Workers from around the world no matter the culture, country, or type of job believe that increasing the minimum wage would solve individual financial problems. It is important to know that this subject is not a black-and-white problem and can not be answered by a simple yes or a no answer. This article will be focusing on the minimum wage in America. Furthermore, we are focusing on the State 's minimum wage rather the Federal minimum wage. It is important to understand that the state 's minimum wage is different than the Federal. In some states it may be higher or lower than the Federal, and other states in comparison. Although increasing a state 's minimum wage would have a positive effect on individual workers, it may have a negative and long-lasting effect on the state’s cities and its economy.

As aforementioned, it contends to be critical that the economy of the United States steadily increases in order to maintain balance between the manufacturer and the consumer’s purchasing power, which contends to be directly influenced by the growth rate of the minimum wage. As the standard of living increases within the United States, the prices of goods and services will also increase which will force low wage employees to depend on government assistance in order to keep up. By 2024, in areas all across the United States, a single adult without children will need at least $31,200-what a full-time worker making about $15 an hour earns annually- to achieve a modest, but adequate standard of living. Workers in costlier areas and those with children will need even more, according to projections based on the Economic Policy Institute’s Family Budget Calculator. ("Why America Needs a $15 Minimum Wage”

Today’s outdated minimum wage has far less buying power than it had in the 1960s. Stuck since 2009 at $7.25 an hour – just $15,080 a year – the minimum wage impoverishes working families and weakens the

Unfortunately the minimum wage is only $5.15/ hour while, "The living wage In 2000, amounted to $17,050 a year for a family of four, or $8.20 per hour for a full-time, year round worker." Obviously the minimum wage is not high enough to be considered the living wage. Which led me to believe that someone could not live off of the current minimum wage. This didn't make sense to me because according to the International Labor Organization one of the criteria for minimum wage calculation is the cost of living.