Persuasive Essay On Minimum Wage

The minimum wage debate brings about a range of reactions from different people. There are those who believe that there shouldn’t even be a minimum wage and that wages should be determined by the markets. On the other hand, we have those who vigorously argue for increasing the wage minimum citing inflation, the poverty line and worker productivity. Regardless, we do have a federal minimum wage rate in the United States at $7.25 per hour, with some states having a higher minimum wage than the federal minimum. President Obama, in his first state of the union address of his second term proposed “Tonight, let’s declare that, in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty, and raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour” (The White House 2013). A year later, he has revised that number to $10.10 per hour after signing an executive order that has already raised the minimum wage for federal workers to that number. (The White House 2014). With more and more states raising their own minimum wage, a minimum wage increase seems almost imminent with Democrats and Republicans getting closer to a deal. (Bolton 2014). But we are more interested in the efficiency of a minimum wage implemented at the federal level. The main question that surrounds this debate is whether this price floor in labor markets is efficient given that the stated goal of the minimum wage is to make sure full-time workers earn a living wage and are above the poverty line.

“Raise the wage!” reads many protestors’ signs across America. Many people believe this to be the answer to the financial inequality that plagues our country. The federal minimum wage was established to keep workers from settling on a poor living standard (Leonard A.11). Since this was passed, multiple debates and issues have risen. One begins to ask the question, is this truly the best way to resolve the unequal distribution of wealth? After research, it has been found that there are many drawbacks that are related to raising the minimum wage. Because of the number of harmful, detrimental, disadvantageous effects of increasing the base pay, the country should not continuously raise it.

In America and countries around the world, we face a universal problem: poverty. Among many options, a widespread solution for this problem is the implementation of a minimum wage. Aside from the US, countries such as Luxembourg, Belgium, and Ireland all have set minimum wages(Petroff). Minimum wage was first established during the Great Depression when President John F.Kennedy was striving to help the economy and lift many Americans out of poverty(Day). At the time, the minimum wage was $0.25 an hour, which corresponds to about $3.98 an hour in today’s money(Minimum Wage). Since then, the minimum wage has steadily increased to today’s $7.25 an hour. With the fluctuating economy, people’s views and opinions on the subject have swayed every which way throughout the years, with minimum wages rising and falling over different cities, states and countries. The imminent truth is that people simply need more money, with around 60% of the population already in poverty (Dunkelberg). Often times, people are very liberal with this issue and suggest that America raise the minimum wage drastically to $15.00 an hour. The face of the proposition is a pretty one, suggesting that everyone gets more money, so how could one say no? While increasing the minimum wage has had some small benefits, especially from an employee’s perspective, the success of this idea proves to be a facade on the face of the future

One of the most acrimoniously debated problems in American society today is the debate over the minimum wage. The minimum wage, established in 1938 by President Roosevelt, was made to be a safety net for people who provided unskilled labor, but also needed to provide for themselves. Up until that point, people had no guarantee that they would be paid. The minimum wage was quite literally one of the only lines of defense unskilled workers had in harsh times, such as near the end of the Great Depression. In today’s society, the minimum wage is still a means by which unskilled workers can provide for themselves, but many people have lost track of what it originally meant. The minimum wage is no longer specifically meant for people in dire need, having to take the first job they find. People now perceive it to be something into which they can settle, even in today’s society, where opportunities for hard workers to be promoted are frequent and encouraged. Despite the chances people have to seek out promotions, most $15 minimum wage proponents believe that they are entitled to having the minimum wage increased because they believe it would put them at a “livable wage” and that businesses owe them higher pay because of the cash flows they generate. As a federally mandated expense to businesses, it is critical for people to consider the possible negative outcomes of trying to forcibly make businesses, whether large or small, pay an increased minimum wage as drastic as $15. Not only will it negatively affect the U.S. economy, but it will also put minimum wage workers at the same level of disadvantage, if not more.

The bill to raise minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $10.10 and hour over a two year period had been thrown around for months, but it does not seem to be passing. Ronald Reagan once said in 1980, “The minimum wage has caused more misery and unemployment than anything since the Great Depression.” This fact may still hold true today as Americans see the effects the debate over minimum wage is having. According to the National Association of Manufacturers the national minimum wage “constitute[d] a step in the direction of communism, bolshevism, fascism, and Nazism.” These negative views of minimum wage also believe that it will, in the end, only destroy the economy, doom American freedom, take jobs, and only hurt the people it is supposed to be helping.

With President Franklin Roosevelt’s cries for “A fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work,” the Fair Labor Standards Act established minimum wage in 1938 (Grossman). Overtime, the minimum wage has been raised in order to account for inflation (BLS 14). However, what the overall economic impact of raising the wage will be is once again a daunting and extensive question. The controversy over raising the minimum wage seems to come from often conflicting economic opinions. While raising the minimum wage is done with good intentions, critics argue that a higher minimum wage will harm those it is actually trying to help. Raising the minimum wage, while a controversial issue, will have an overall economic impact that reaches not only minimum wage

In public discussion, the minimum wage is a frequent topic debated by policymakers; in the recent presidential campaign, candidate Bernie Sanders even made a $15.00 an hour minimum wage part of his platform. According to Adam Smith’s theory of economics, the invisible hand of market forces, or bargaining between employers and employees, should lead to a fair wage (Ryan 3). However, a significant amount of evidence points shows that market forces are not enough for some to sustain the cost of living. The minimum wage is shown to improve overall standard of living, mitigate economic inequality, and has few negative externalities, despite the arguments of those against the minimum wage such as job loss, loss of profit, and trust in market forces. The minimum wage is necessary, and the most efficient wage policy keeps a person out of poverty, adjusts for cost of living, and is as location-specific as possible.

Human rights are defined as a right that belongs to humans because they are human. Everyone should have certain rights to live a healthy life, like rights to life itself, security, and freedom of thought. One right that is a little bit complicated and controversial is the right of having a fair minimum wage. The United States has enacted laws guaranteeing a minimum wage for all workers, but what should that number be? There has always been a number set in stone around every decade, but with the United States continually improving and getting out of the recession, it has yet to change since 2009. The right to a fair minimum wage should be a human right, and with that, the minimum wage should be raised to at least $10.10. This should all happen because it will prevent poverty for many in America, it will help the economy by giving more money to consumers, and because the UDHR already supports the idea of a fair minimum wage.

The minimum wage law was first enacted in January 1938 (Mutari, Ellen), and since then, people have falsely been led to believe that it is beneficial to the economy as well as the general population. It has commonly been seen as a method to reduce poverty by redistributing income in order to make sure that people earn a healthy, living wage; however, evidence has shown that it in fact does just the opposite. Forcing a minimum wage goes against the free market, and severely disrupts the natural process of supply and demand. Disrupting the supply and demand process results in many negative consequences, and produces an important question: should the minimum wage law exist? The minimum wage law should not exist because it causes increased

The Minimum Wage – the argument over its efficacy has waged since before the passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Prior to answering the moral, social, or political question of whether a minimum wage should be mandated or whether such a law is fair; it is necessary to look at the data. What does the data say and how should we interpret the data? This paper will rely heavily upon David Neumark’s and William Wascher’s research and analysis in this subject as well as upon the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report from February 2014. Also, in order to assess whether a minimum wage can or has been successful, the definition of what minimum wage represents must be offered.

For many decades now, there has been heated debates concerning minimum wages and increases in those wages. Most people have a tendency to assume that when the minimum wage is increased people will benefit. They do not stop to think of the consequences that come from minimum wage increases. The general population merely assumes that people should make an adequate amount of income and never stop to consider the consequences, nor do they stop to consider alternatives. A rise in minimum wages is not necessarily the best approach to helping the poverty stricken individuals in this country. The following paper presents an overview of various problems concerning raising minimum wage, finding that

In the article listed above the author discusses both the pros and cons or increasing the price floor when it comes to minimum wage such as by increasing the wage will cost jobs by pricing low-wage workers out of the labor market. Oppositions of the policy have often raised the potential unemployment effects, but this analysis shows that minimum wage increases do not price low-wage workers out of the labor market although many others may disagree with the analysis. The employment effects, while unfavorable in some models, never reach anywhere near the level where the benefits to low-wage workers would be outweighed by their costs in terms of job losses. Lastly, the minimum wage is to maintain a floor underneath the low-wage labor market. This role of the minimum is important because low-wage workers have historically had the least bargaining power in the U.S. workforce and it is an important component of that policy

In 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed and ever since, the United States has required that all firms that do at least $500,000 worth of business per year pay their workers a minimum wage (“Handy” n.pag.). Because it affects so many workers in so many different aspects of the economy, the minimum wage plays a big part in the cost of labor and how firms deal with those costs. A change in the minimum wage, which would seemingly affect only workers, can actually be felt sometimes all the way down to the consumer, who might end up paying for it in the end—unless the firm finds another way to pay for the mandatory raise for all its workers, such as a decrease in its workforce or a

In the United States, if a citizen does not have money then it will be extremely hard for them to survive. Thought out the united states, there is a different minimum wage in every state. Some are higher then other and some are wages seem ludicrous. One thing that many people fail to realize that each state had a different value of merchandise. So, for the states that have a high wage that means a loaf of bread or milk will be more expensive. Many people will argue that there shouldn’t be a minimum wage because it is a low amount and it will be difficult to survive. But, there are some unfortunate people in this cold world that are willing to work for the bare minimum. If the minimum wage is $7.25, then that is the amount the employer is required to pay the employee no matter if the employee agreed to work for the bare minimum. It is the law to follow the wage in every state. One thing that people fail to know is that, when the employer is hiring they will alter the starting amount of the employee. No matter what the case is, if a person is seeking for a job opportunity and is highly desperate they should still get payed minimum wage, and the government is doing the right job for requiring the employer to pay the employee minimum wage. Having a set wage within the state is a great thing.

While we all know that a higher than minimum wage income would go a long way towards raisin economic standards of areas where minimum wage jobs are prevalent, a higher minimum wage could also have adverse effects as well (Laffer, 2016). For employees, minimum wage work translates into income, standard of living, education and taxes which make up our entire economy (Laffer, 2016). For employers, minimum wage creates competitive pressures and productivity, taxes and living standards for investors, suppliers and employers themselves (Laffer, 2016). Minimum wage reduces job growth over several years and for every 10% increase there is a 1-2% reduction in low-skilled employment (Neumark, 2015). However, it’s not just employers and employees