Most people do not know what it is like to live from paycheck to paycheck and to always be in

minimum wages are struggling to live on a salary that is below the poverty threshold. In 2012, the U.S census posted that in a family of three; their income is 18,552, (U.S Census). In most case, one member of the family is working on a minimum wage salary which is below 18,552, (U.S. Dept. of Labor). It has been almost a five years since congress has raised the minimum wage (Huff Post). Throughout my argument, I will share my thoughts as wells as facts on why congress should agree to raise the minimum wage. We

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 average American in the today 's society cannot live off of $7.25 an hour. In cities, such as New York, the cost of living is far too high for a minimum wage pay rate. Jobs that pay minimum wage are paid bi-weekly, those people that are paid bi-weekly have a tough first week, and it can also make the following week after that hard as well. The average American household spends about $151 every week on groceries, that amount will consist of about half of a person 's check if they are paid minimum wage seeing as how during a full 40 hour work week they make $290 dollars not to mention the breaks that they are required to clock out for so the average person doesn’t even see a whole 40 hours in a week full-time or

In today’s times, there is a lot of debate going on about the wages of workers all around the nation. The major question is: Should there be a minimum wage salary that a person can earn? Securing employment is not easy to do in the U.S. at this time, and the rate of compensation is low. When people are paid little to nothing to work an eight hour shift, they get angry because it does not provide enough for them and their families. People who are paid minimum wage fall into this category because minimum wage does not pay enough to provide for basic needs of the average family. The result of this is that people earning minimum wage tend to

At one point or another, minimum wage is a term that most American people will familiarize themselves with. The topic of minimum wage can sometimes be a particularly controversial one, so it is important that we understand the true effects that this has on our nation’s economy. Before the fall of our economy and the increase in prices of everyday necessities, such as monthly bills, groceries and gasoline, a family could have found it easier to survive off of this wage; however, as the prices continue to rise in today’s economy, it is harder for the working family to “get by”. As of 2015, the national minimum wage is $7.25 per hour or a little more than $15,000 annually and for a working family in today’s economy, it may be difficult. This paper will focus on the effects of raising the minimum wage and discuss how it will affect our economy and the American people.

Minimum wage is typically favored by society and seen as a way to raise the incomes of those under or at the poverty level, but despite it’s good intentions it at its current levels it barely keeps many families out of poverty. (Sharp, et al., 2013., p. 76) According to the Pew Research Center the Federal when adjusted for inflation the minimum wage peaked in 1968 and has lost 8.1% of it’s purchasing power. (Desilver, 2015.) Though minimum wage is not an effective tool of improving distribution of income or necessarily a good anti-poverty tool. (Sharp, et al., 2013., pp. 87, 89) Despite a minimal increase in 2009 the minimum wage still does not reflect the change in inflation since the end of the 1960s and should rest around $12. (Desilver,

The living standards for impoverished people are extremely low due to the minimum wage rate. Indeed similar to the title of a New York Times article, “Can’t Win for Losing”. Many have argued, that raising the rate of minimum wage will only encourage children to drop out of school, and cause unemployment. Although it is agreeable that $15.00 an hour is unviable, it should also be compliant that $7.25 per hour is completely ludicrous. As an American citizen of the United States today, you just simply cannot earn a living on the minimum wage

Many people work over 50 hours a week just to get by paying bills, getting food to eat, and just one's daily needs to survive. This causes less opportunities for that individual, along with causing them to stress over their work. “A few months ago, Reyes told me, she was spending 86 hours every two weeks at two minimum-wage jobs to pay for her car and for college” (Gertner, 2006, p.1) Not only most Americans have to work many hours to be able to pay for one's needs, but also sometimes have to work two jobs. This means that the have little time to do personal things during the day, along with sometimes the are sleep deprived from trying to catch up with the personal things the did not have the opportunity to do. The United States minimum wage is $7.25 as of now in most places. “The federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour is set by Congress. It hasn't increased since 2009. The average hourly wage of U.S. workers has increased by almost $4 an hour, or 18%, since the last federal increase, according to the Labor Department.” (Calvert & Morath, 2017, p.1) People are fighting to get a higher pay so one can live without the stress of living day to day. Many people could be benefited if the wage was raised to $15. “The law, which would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020, affects hundreds of thousands of workers and makes Los Angeles the largest city in the

Minimum wage is defined as the lowest possible income that an employer can legally pay an employee. These provisions are contained in the Fair Labor Standards Act. The purpose of minimum wage is to ensure that all workers are fairly paid and not exploited by companies or businesses. However this is not always the case instead this policy ends up hurting low-end workers and the economy in terms of lower job opportunities. Sustainability, in this case, is defined as the ability to maintain a certain amount of physical property. Considering this definition of sustainability, minimum wage is not a feasible salary to survive with a basic quality of life. Standard minimum wage presently is a base pay of $7.25 an hour. The current amount of minimum wage fails to keep pace with inflation and the rising cost of living (Biegler, 2014). Living standards in the United States have risen over time just as overall consumption levels have increased. The outdated measurement of poverty underestimates the amount of income families need to sustain a comfortable living. The original poverty thresholds were set in the early 1960s. Since then, there have been significant changes in family spending patterns that the poverty threshold fails to capture. For example, families are demanding and paying for more health care and child care because of changes in health insurance coverage, rising health care costs, and women’s increased labor force participation (Chasanov, 2004).This only means that

In our modern day economy over four million americans are paid the federal minimum wage of seven dollars and twenty-five cents. People living on the federal minimum wage can attest to the fact that it is not really living, it is more a game of surviving. While the top twenty percent of americans hold over eighty-five percent of wealth the remaining eighty percent of us are left with only fifteen percent of the wealth to fight for. It is not fair for there to be a person spending lavishly while there is another struggling to live. The minimum wage should be raised to fifteen dollars an hour, because it clears people’s worries of financial instability, creates a larger middle class, and makes the minimum

We need to make it possible for American workers to earn a living wage that covers all of their necessities. However, raising the minimum wage is not the only answer, and the government should utilize alternative strategies or policies to curb unemployment and reduce the levels of inflation. Reducing the inflation and unemployment levels will allow more workers to support their families in an efficient manner as compared to increasing the minimum wage levels. The average amount recommended is $15 per hour, the average living costs for an adult with a child. At least one state and several cities have already enacted new, tiered wage increases that will bring their minimum wage to $15 over the course of several years. They include California, New York City, and Washington D.C. and Seattle (Wihbey). More have

Surprisingly, the minimum wage does very little to help the workers it was intended to help. Data from the Bureau of Labor (2014) shows that only 4.3% out of the 75.9 million hourly paid employees earned at or below the Federal Minimum wage of $7.25 an hour with just over half of those earning less than that due to working in jobs that are exempt such as disabled workers, tipped employees, and full-time students. This population of workers currently accounts for a smaller portion of the work force than it used to and in turn only

If someone were to give you a dime and a nickel and told you to buy food for your family, you would think they were crazy. Better yet, if someone were to give you a dime and a nickel and told you to go out and buy a house, you would find it nothing short of impossible. These analogies may seem farfetched, but this is what life is like for the estimated 3 million people living off of the current federal minimum wage. The money that they receive from their job is gone before they know it; and they are stuck waiting for another paycheck just to get some of the basic necessities, such as food or a home, that they need. No one can truly live off of the current federal minimum wage, yet alone raise a

Those living in the United States of America are experiencing some economically dark times. Unemployment is becoming increasingly worse. Social programs are failing. Prices everywhere are on the rise as wages are declining drastically. Class division has never been more distinct. Of those lucky enough to have secured the multiple jobs needed in order to maintain their subsistent existences, most make only a minimum wage, established by their state’s laws, which is then harshly taxed upon. Life is hard enough in our dying superpower of a nation, but even worse for the work force of America that must survive on minimum wage. It is an offending disappointment that our fellow countrymen and women must live the way they do. This raises a

Providing minimum wage to workers ensures that he or she will be able to provide for him or her, as well as the family his or she is taking care of. “The federal minimum wage is not tied to inflation or adjusted by region, and consequently, many adults earning minimum wage still fall below the federal poverty level” (Harvey). The minimum wage has actually dropped over the decades and if the minimum wage had kept up with inflation over the past forty years it would currently be $10.74, and not $7.25 according to the article. That being stated the significant numbers of minimum wages workers are adults whose income comprises 50% or more of their family’s income.