Persuasive Essay Against Minimum Wage

Before people push a minimum wage increase, they need to be totally aware of all of the positive and negative results and consequences that might occur as a result. The issue concerning what to do about the minimum wage has served as an ongoing controversy amongst several people. The federal minimum wage should not be raised for several reasons including the harmful effect on small businesses, the increase of poverty, and the augmentation of competition for jobs.

Imagine a single mother who has has the task of taking care of multiple children, all on a minimum wage budget. This mother’s mind is overwhelmed with worries. Will she be able to pay next month's rent? WIll she be able to put food on the table for all of her children. The single mother lives each and every day with this anxiety, and even with government assistance: Is it enough to live comfortably?

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.

Life is a struggle and finding a job and paying your bills is not always easy in this world today. A major debate that has been an issue is whether there should be a law to raise the minimum wage. The minimum wage is the lowest hourly salary an employer can pay an employee for their work. According to Williams (2013), “The minimum wage was signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1938”. The first minimum wage was 25 cents per hour. Since then, the minimum wage has been increasing as the last increase of Florida's minimum wage was an increase of 14 cents on Jan. 1, 2014. This federal increase makes it 68 cents higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25. Gibson (2014) states “Obama, who last year called for an increase in the

I decided to write about how I felt regarding the federal government's involvement in controlling the minimum wage and that I felt they are disconnected in their understanding of the impacts on communities when they raise the minimum wage. I work for a manufacturing company in the U.S. and I understand wholeheartedly what the impact of salary increases due to our bottom line. In very competitive markets the difference between success and failure can be separated by the difference of only a few dollars per part, and while in other countries, their manufacturing bottom line is subsidized by their governments we are forced to generate profits the old-fashioned way through supply and demand. This is why I decided to take a stance in my persuasive essay and challenge the status quo of the Department of Labor and Wages. No longer should the federal government dictate a national minimum wage but should allow each state to establish their own minimum wage based on the economic condition of their counties and their state, as a whole.

The current federal minimum wage is too low to allow people to earn a living wage and has failed to keep up with increases in inflation, productivity and economic growth in recent years. Wages have been fixed at $7.25 an hour since 2009, resulting in a 40 hour work week that allows one to earn only $15,000 a year, an amount that lies just barely above the poverty line (13). If the worker is responsible for children and works full-time to earn this amount, they drop below the poverty line. These low

The federal minimum wage in the United States is currently $7.25 an hour. Increasing the minimum wage would lift approximately 900,000 people out of poverty. Forty-three million Americans are living in poverty due to low income, health care costs, childcare costs, college costs, and housing costs. The federal minimum wage should be raised because it keeps up with inflation and would scale down poverty levels.

$7.25 equals two gallons of gas, one fast food meal, or a simple school supply. With the minimum wage at the current rate you must work one hour to earn the seven dollars and twenty-five cents that only supply you with small necessities for everyday living. This problem was encountered before and was resolved with the agreement to higher the minimum wage from $5.85 to the current $7.25. Although that was a big increase in salaries, was it truly enough? This controversy can lead to a major change in everyone’s everyday lives and boost our economy to a period of prosperity. The minimum wage should be increased to bring our economy out of a recession, bring families together,

Those in favor of the minimum wage have argued, contrary to established economic theory, that the minimum wage can actually increase employment. An increase in income results in additional "money in the pockets" of workers which encourages greater spending in the economy. This in turn causes greater demand for goods and services, an increase in production, and the creation of new jobs. Additionally, a higher minimum wage is thought reduce government welfare spending. If workers earned more money, their dependence on and eligibility for government benefits would decrease. A recurring theme among pro minimum wage arguments is the issue of stagnant wages. Improvements in economic growth and productivity have exceeded increases in the minimum

The minimum wage has been changing over time for the past hundred years. Minimum wage is a standard payment that can give people a minimum standard of living. Unfortunately, many minimum wage workers cannot afford a decent living, so they end up going into government programs. Minimum wage is different for every worker. In the past, workers’ wages were based on being a different gender of ages, or even paid for how big the family was”. In addition, the minimum wage is different in every state. Even though minimum wage has increased in the past more people are starting to get into government support programs. Also, the minimum wage payment barely gets people to provide a home. Maybe if the state minimum wages increase by $15.00, there might

The current minimum wage often isn’t enough to adequately cover the basic costs of living. Somebody who works full-time at minimum wage and is the sole

In 2012 the percentage of poverty fell from 15% to 14.5%. By raising the minimum wage the united states will have less poverty.People who earn minimum wage and have families don't earn enough to meet their basic living expenses. Sometimes people don't have enough money to buy necessities such as food. If minimum wage is increased, more people will be able to afford housing. Earning minimum wage is not even enough to support 1 person. People not only need to buy food and afford housing but also pay bills like electricity,water etc.By earning minimum wage people aren't able to pay all of these necessities.A person working forty hours a week, fifty weeks a year at the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour would earn $14,500, pre-tax. In the area where I live housing is really expensive , houses for rent are usually $400 monthly not including the amount the owner wants for deposit. People with minimum wage will have a hard time to buy their own house if a house is on sale for $100,00 and you earn $20,00 annually you aren't going to have enough money to give a down payment and still be paying for house insurance plus basic living expenses. “According to a 2015 report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a worker must earn at least $15.50 an hour

Humanity reaches unbelievable heights, discovers old civilizations, creates supersonic aircraft, launches every day new high tech gadgets, but fails to resist the challenge of the 21st century- the poverty. The U.S.A. has experienced crisis and prolonged period of economic instability which threatened first of all the economic security of individuals, families and whole communities. The minimum wage becomes a wealth inequality and economic segregation that endangers the ability to eat and remain healthy, have access to education and new opportunities. In these circumstances, replacing the minimum wage with a living wage will serve as a relief for the poor and will bring benefits to the local businesses and the economy as well.

A full-time, minimum-wage worker earns about $15,000 per year, which is below the federal poverty line for a worker with just one child. When there’s a significant gap between the wage floor and what it takes to live, not only do workers suffer, but good employers are penalized. Businesses that may want to pay a livable wage fear being cut by employers who pay less wages for even the slightest price advantage. One needs to raise the minimum wage to the point where the lowest-paid worker can afford their basic needs. An increase to $10.10 an hour as proposed by President Barack Obama would restore the wage floor to the same value it had in the 1960s. In doing so, it would lift earnings for nearly 28 million workers nationwide roughly 1 in 5 U.S. workers. Opponents claim that raising the wage floor will do more harm than good, forcing businesses to reduce staff, cut hours or hike prices.

Low minimum wages affects everyday families and lives, more than the average person would think. A small minimum wage could have an very small effect on someone’s life, such as not being able to afford a new pair of boots or that new phone, contradictory to this low wages could also have a very serious effect on someone’s life . Meaning that a parent or single individual could not support their family because a lack of income, it could also mean the difference of living under a safe roof, or living in the streets. In 2016 alone, 40.6 million people in the United States