Persuasive Essay On Raising Minimum Wage

I believe that working individuals can make enough to live and support a family, it just depends on how they handle their money and utilize their skills to support it. For instance, throughout American history, immigrants have come to our shores. Most arrived poor and destitute. Some chose to remain that way, and some chose to rise above and became bankers, lawyers, professional people throughout the world. Some, however, chose to be ditch diggers “manual laborers” and settled with that.

People are still living on $2 a day here in the United States. As one of the wealthiest countries in the world, how is it possible for people to live with this little amount of money? I know that I cannot. In $2.00 a Day, Jennifer Hernandez, a single mother with two kids, is a person who lives on $2 a day as she tries to survive and support herself and her kids in the collapsing economy. The minimum wage job for cleaning houses reinforces the cycle of poverty that Jennifer and her kids live in. This cycle of poverty reveals that there needs to be major changes to the economical infrastructure of the United States since the poor cannot get themselves out of poverty even though they actively look for work or have a job.

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.

An increase of a couple of dollars per hour or more in the minimum wage could make huge improvements in the difficult existence of the working poor, perhaps allowing them to exit the debt treadmill and stand a better chance of eventually rising into a revitalized middle-class. Researchers at the White House Council of Economic Advisors found that an increase to $10.10 an hour would raise wages for 28 million Americans about nine million of those due to the ripple effect. “According to a 2015 report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a worker must earn at least $15.50 an hour to be able to afford to rent a modest one-bedroom apartment, and $19.35 for a two-bedroom unit.”

Americans that are living pay check by pay are struggling to pay their bills every month, of these, most of them earn only minimum wage which is “$ 7 .25” Epstein, R, & Bedford, K. (2014) , p,3. Working full time, 40 hours a week and 52 week a year. The average Americans that are working minimum wage jobs are providing for families on a full time salary which is not enough to pay for the hose hold bills and proved for every day necessities; this forces them to find a second job. In 1996 the number of people holding two or more jobs averaged Barabara Ehrenreich (2011) “7.8 million or 6.2 percent in the workforce” (p.45). According to Michelle Conlin a senior writer and editor of the Working Life Department and Aaron Bemstein a senior writer on Workplace and social issues, 63% of United States families below the federal poverty line have one or more job. More than a “third are 18-25- year old” Conlin, M., & Bemstein, A. (2007), p, 2, who are trying to work their way up the ladder with little to no help. In today’s society more than “28 million people” Conlin, M., & Bemstein, A, (2007), p, 2, which is about a quarter of the workforce between the ages of “18 and 64, earn less than $9.04 an hour” Conlin, M., & Bemstein,A. (2007), p, 2. This is well below what most American’s would consider a decent stander of living. The increase in the cost of living means parents earning the national minimum wage struggle to support families. Raising the rent for apartment and houses are

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

Raising the federal minimum wage allows individuals to be able to provide for themselves and their families without the need for some type of government assistance. One report explains that families with workers only earning minimum wage rely on those workers for 59% of the families’ total earnings (Fox). Many people associate minimum wage jobs as starter jobs for high school students, but the reality is that the number of college graduates working in minimum wage jobs has more than doubled over the past five years. The majority of people who are earning minimum wage are

Millions of Americans live in poverty unable to find high paying jobs to support themselves and their families. A common belief is that paying a higher minimum wage would help lift people out of poverty by giving those with low paying jobs a higher income, however the evidence suggests otherwise. The 2016 race to the White House heating up, the minimum wage battle is at the forefront of every economic discussion. The rhetoric between candidates within and across party lines is intensifying. Many differing opinions are being heard. As the debate over whether or not to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25/hour to $15/hour rages on, one side stands apart time and time again.

The federal minimum wage was raised to $7.25 an hour by Congress in 2009, something that has been carried out only a handful of times since the establishment of the wage in the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938. Even with this modest rise in income, the minimum wage today does not provide for a decent standard of living. It has failed to keep pace with the wage growth of an average American worker. The minimum wage was intended provide a minimum standard of living; to aid in alleviating poverty and reward one for their work, however, in today’s economy, it fails to live up to these modest goal. Despite the fact that many adults and their families included depend on these wages to make ends meet there exists stiff opposition to any

Living on minimum wage with companies that pay with the bare minimum has never been a walk in the park for anyone. Whether you are an individual that lives by yourself or a parent that has children to take care of, minimum wage doesn’t provide enough to live a comfortable life. Many people say that if the minimum wage is raised, there will be negative repercussions. However, there is evidence that shows the complete opposite. This evidence would include how living conditions would improve, happier employees result in better work output, and there would be an increase in sales due to people being able to afford more. Raising the minimum wage to match rates of inflation would benefit and improve lives.

Since 2009, the federal minimum wage rate for employees has been $7.25 per hour. In retrospect, this is hardly enough pay to take care of one’s self-- let alone a family with children. If a person were to add up the average cost of living for one week and then compare it to the average amount of money earned in minimum wage for that week, it would be apparent that there is little to no extra money for emergency situations. Increasing the minimum wage has been a major controversial issue; Democrats are proponents of raising the minimum wage, however, Republicans are trying to stop the movement. Many economists have discussed how raising the minimum wage could benefit millions of people and businesses, yet Republicans still hinder the

Millions of Americans live in poverty, unable to find high paying jobs to support themselves and their families. Common belief persists that paying a higher minimum wage would aid in lifting people out of poverty by giving those with low paying jobs a higher income, however the evidence suggests otherwise. As the 2016 race for the White House heats up, the minimum wage battle stands at the forefront of every economic discussion. The rhetoric between candidates within and across party lines intensifies by the day. While the debate over whether or not to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25/hour to $15/hour rages on, one side continues to stand out from the other.

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

Setting a floor on wages inherently limits the freedom to negotiate between an employee and an employer and directly contradicts the popular and pragmatic philosophy of laissez-fair capitalism. The minimum wage rose to prominence during the Great Depression, as politicians desperately needed a drastic solution to alleviate the effects caused by history’s worst economic downturn. Modern economists heatedly disagree about the idea of a minimum wage and passionately argue over it more than any other topic. Ambitious and often uninformed politicians espouse support for legislation for an increase to the minimum wage without considering the rippling effects that a wage floor has on the broader economy. According to numerous scientific studies and accurate and varied analyses of major world economies, a standard, governmentally-mandated minimum wage set at an equal rate for all sectors in a national economy increases productivity per worker; however, it also directly increases unemployment, decreases the relative pay for skilled workers, with

The topic of increased minimum wage in the United States remains quite popular in opinion polls and political water cooler discussions—where many support an increase for those earning minimum wage. While there seems to be broad-sweeping support by average Americans for a wage increase—this empirical data is not evidence-based, and for that reason, what seems like an obvious solution in helping the poor must be rejected. When viewed through the lens of critical thinking, increasing wages for those working jobs versus careers, one must take into account the economics of such a decision—not merely an emotional reaction to the situation.