Persuasive Essay On 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.

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.

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

Currently the minimum wage is $7.25 an hour in most states. Recently, people have been lobbying to raise the minimum wage. Those petitioning do not recognize how raising the minimum wage will affect the economy and many people’s lives in a negative fashion. Endorsers believe that raising the minimum wage will help those who are poor, but in reality it will cause more people to succumb to poverty. For the sake of all Americans, we must educate the lobbyist regarding the effects of raising the minimum wage.

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.

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 American society has made huge developments since the Civil War era. Advances in technology, transportation, and home quality have had a wonderful effect on the economy, but at a hefty price. While the standards of living have rose dramatically, it has become harder to produce enough income to acquire them. In the 1930s, a minimum wage act was established to help the victims of the Great Depression out of poverty which is still running today, but now it is hard to live of minimum wage while trying to support a good health or a family. There has been a high demand for the increase of minimum wage, but politicians fear the effects of this drastic change. Writer Rex Huppke and “The Economists” have wrote detailed articles concerning politicians’ ideas on minimum wage and how they plan to address this issue. The narrators address these controversy in their articles, but their writing is varied on the facts, opinions, and main idea of increasing minimum wage.

I am a resident in Madera, California. I am writing with my distresses about raising minimum wage. I understand there is a lot of controversy over the subject, but I would like to make a couple of statements of my own of why I don’t think it is in the best interest of the citizens of the United States. One of the questions I ponder with “Is raising the minimum wage good for the American people”? I understand some people will disagree with me but we also need to know how it will impact the business. Without Businesses we have no work, without work we have no money to sustain ourselves we are all connected.

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.

Everyone loves making money- that’s how we survive our world. Without it, none of us are going very far, and we all know it. In today’s time, it is hard to actually get out there in the workforce and be successful when your income limits what you can do. You might not be able to afford to go to college, or to move to where you have always wanted to live. According to “Calculating the Poverty Line,” Raising minimum wage will benefit above forty-one million people in the United States. That is about thirty percent of the whole United States. Thirty percent does not seem like a large number by itself, for the United States is a very large country. According to “Population,” there are well over three hundred thirty- three million people currently residing in the United States. This fact may make you wean away from wanting minimum wage to be raised, because it seems barely significant- that it will make almost no difference at all. However, when it is a factor in the lives of people, something that might improve their lives immensely and help the economy as a whole, it is actually very significant. States like Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Arizona, and Maine are starting to realize this as well, as they have raised their minimum wage up to twelve dollars an hour. I firmly believe that minimum wage should be raised to fifteen dollars an hour across all states. Raising minimum wage is necessary due to the facts that it would give low income workers the chance to dig their way out of poverty, it would majorly help to reverse decades of the large gap between the rich and poor’s income, plus now-a-days minimum wage is far less than what it used to be in the past.

¨Anita lives in Phoenix and has a degree in economics. She has four children, two of whom have special needs. She is regularly forced to choose between working enough hours to put food on the table and taking her kids to a long list of doctor’s appointments. Anita had to take her son with down syndrome to 11 doctors appointments in the past week. She receives state assistance and says, “you can’t judge people who are working, but still need to get help. I’m not a lazy person, trust me. A raise in the minimum wage is just about fairness, and about giving people a fighting chance to achieve the American Dream.” (¨Brave People Tell Department of Labor their Struggles Living on Minimum Wage¨).¨ This is just one example of the life of one single minimum wage worker. With minimum wage only being $7.50 an hour, or an average of $15,080 a year, wages are not enough to supply for the needs of a whole family. (¨The Minimum Wage Used To Be Enough To Keep Workers Out Of Poverty—It’s Not Anymore¨). Raising the minimum wage would be very beneficial for the economy and allow for people to spend fewer hours working and spending more hours with their loved ones.

As of 2017 the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour (“Federal”). Based on the region of the country, $7.25 may be enough, but for some regions this is not a fair hourly wage. It is impossible for the federal government to make a fair minimum wage. On top of that, a national increase would eliminate many jobs for American people. Also, a national increase would cause employers to invest in machinery to complete the labor rather than humans. States should be in charge of setting their own minimum wage.

A living wage, or a true minimum wage, is a wage that has the ability to maintain a normal standard of living. A true minimum wage also enables people to live comfortable lives. If this is true, then the minimum wage in place now is not a living nor true minimum wage and it needs to be increased to meet these criteria.