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.

The topic of raising minimum wage seems to attract a multitude of controversy. On one side, experts agree that raising a family on one minimum wage salary is almost impossible for someone who puts in fairly large work hours. Nonetheless, business owners agree that increasing these salaries will result in significantly less jobs, as well as force them to increase the prices on their consumer products. Federally, minimum wage workers earn $7.25 an hour, totaling up to $15,080 annually, with approximately six hours of working time per day. However, the price varies with state, with places like Massachusetts and Washington paying $11 to workers hourly.

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.

$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

In today's society it's expensive to live in America and even getting day by day is very difficult if you are living on minimum wage, of course it's more difficult for some people than others depending on their situation and their living conditions. America should raise minimum wage because it would make things easier for people who are struggling. A higher minimum wage not only increases workers’ incomes, it will also be good for our economy. A quarter of people working minimum wage are at least raising one child. This change will help a lot of people it would make our country a better place.

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.

Minimum wage is currently a very heavily debated topic. Many are in favor of raising the current national minimum wage of $7.25 to a more livable wage; suggestions for this increase are anywhere between $9-15 per hour. While the minimum wage has been raised several times throughout the years, it has not been kept proportional to raises in inflation which has led to a decrease in the amount of goods that people are able to buy with those wages, in turn making their economic lives more difficult. Those that are trying to live and survive off of minimum wage are naturally most concerned with this issue as it greatly impacts their life and well-being, however, it is also an issue that concerns the whole nation as raising the minimum wage could end up in higher tax rates or higher prices by way of inflation.

They are not meant to support a family on. The most common type of minimum wage jobs include things like working at fast food restaurants or working as a cashier. Many college graduates start with their first job making close to $15 dollars an hour. Why should someone in an unskilled job, like flipping burgers be making almost as much as someone who went to college and worked hard to get a real career. Our president, Barack Obama, made a statement about wages needing to be raised. His reasoning was that people needed more money so that they can pay their daily expenses, bills, and take care of their families. Similarly, many people in favor of raising minimum wage argue that people need to be paid more so that their children are not raised up in poverty. But isn’t that why people go to college and get a career so that they can make enough money to support their family? Increasing the minimum wage would decrease incentive for people to go to college because they wouldn’t have to try as hard and they could still make a good amount of money even if they didn’t go to college. Minimum wage jobs have always been high school kids jobs, not a family's primary income source. Which leads to the next

Many struggle to support their family, pay bills, and buy food on $15000 a year. Minimum wage has been causing a lot of controversy for years now, but nobody does anything to fix the problem. The main reason minimum wage is not being fixed is the rich business owner will have to spend more.People say that minimum wage jobs are easy and pay too much, but they are actually very underpaid and hard for many. One person can survive fine on $15000 a year but three or four can’t. This is one of two reasons why minimum wage should be

The minimum wage of the United States of America, should not be increased. The two arguments against the resolution are that an increased minimum wage would hurt American workers, and hurt American businesses.

3.3% of Americans aged sixteen years or older earn at or below the minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. With an estimated 45 million citizens living in poverty, I will attempt to prove why we must increase the minimum wage to at least $10.10 an hour. In this paper, I will discuss the history and definitions of poverty and minimum wage as well as the pros and cons of implementing a higher minimum wage. I will also examine the economic and social effects of the minimum wage and how it pertains to our day to day lives. In 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established The Fair Labor Standards Act or FLSA as a part of The New Deal. With this, a federal minimum wage of $0.25 was introduced. The act also provided overtime pay, a maximum workweek of forty-four hours, recordkeeping requirements, and a restriction on child labor. Before its passage, one in four children were working sixty hours a week for a median salary of $4.00 per week. Over 700,000 workers were affected by the Fair Labor Standards Act and Roosevelt called it the most important legislation since the Social Security Act of 1935. (Grossman) Since its introduction, the minimum wage has been increased twenty-two times by twelve different presidents. (Bose) The act was specifically intended for those working in manufacturing. Only about 20% of the population was covered by the minimum wage law. Other industries were exempt from the law due to concerns that it would restrict employment. The FSLA faced judicial opposition from the very beginning and has never been without controversy. The National Association of Manufacturers or NAM, denounced the new laws as “a step in the direction of communism, bolshevism, fascism, and Nazism.” (Cole) Many politicians and merchants vehemently opposed the Act and considered it an attack on traditional American values. Roosevelt addressed this apprehension in a fireside chat where he is quoted as saying, “Do not let any calamity-howling executive with an income of $1,000.00 a day, who has been turning his employees over to the Government relief rolls in order to preserve his company’s undistributed reserves, tell you […] that a wage of $11.00 a week is going to have a disastrous effect on all American industry.” (Tritch)

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.

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