Persuasive Essay On Raising Minimum Wage

The minimum wage debate has been a hot topic over the past year, especially with the Presidential Election. This is a divisive topic that people rarely agree upon. There are essentially two sides you can take when it comes to this argument. Either people are for minimum wage or are against raising, or even having, a minimum wage. Proponents of the minimum wage are typically politicians who are lobbying for the vote of the people who feel that a minimum wage is critical to their wellbeing, and those who sympathize with people who earn “minimum wage”. Minimum wage is destroying America’s free market economy and someone needs to take action and find a better solution to this problem. Without anyone acting on this problem now, it can potentially be worse in the long run. Raising the minimum wage in the United States will do more harm than good to society because of the long-term effects.

A family sits at a restaurant and notices that the prices of the food have increased. Minimum wage has increased to $15 per hour, the owners raise the prices of the food and servers no longer have to rely on tips to make a profit. Upon receiving the bill, the family decides not to tip due to the server making $15 an hour and the increased prices. If the minimum wage does increase, producers will have to increase prices causing consumers to demand less. With an increase in minimum wage, unemployment rates will rise, prices will surge, and employee benefits will fall.

Minimum wage has been around since 1938. It was started during the Great Depression to give people the minimum some one could live off or the living wage. It has continued and changed over time to adjust for inflation and the gradual depreciation of money. It has been changed 22 times since it was created in 1938. The last time it was changed was 2007 it was raised from $5.15 to $7.25 (Curry). 72.2 percent of people working minimum wage jobs have a high school diploma and 8 percent have a bachelor’s degree or higher (Curry). The current lining wage in the United States is $10.60 but the minimum wage is still only $7.25. I believe federal minimum wage should be raised from $7.25 to at least $10.60 because it would help our economy grow, it would help business grow and it will get some people out of poverty.

The United States of America has often times been described as the land of opportunity, where a person can come to America with nothing but a dream, and make those dreams possible. With hard work, determination, and a plan, there are no limitations to the amount of success a person can achieve. Due to America’s economic growth, top colleges and universities, and the freedom the US allows its citizens, upward mobility is always possible. While most people strive for success, often times they forget that the road to claiming success will not be easy. When first looking for jobs with no work experience or trade, entry level positions such as, customer service, restaurant/food services industry, custodian work, housekeeping, etc. will be the positions that person will be most qualified for. Most of these jobs will start paying at minimum wage, which is legally the lowest wage per hour that an employer can pay its employees. Today the federal minimum wage is $7.25, and has been at this wage since 2009. While many states have a higher minimum wage than what is regulated federally, it is a very controversial topic in the United States of America. According to the Bureau of Labor Statics, “…Among those paid by the hour, 870,000 workers earned exactly the prevailing federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour”. Due to the federal minimum wage being so low many people began to question if minimum wage was ethical. While the current federal minimum wage is not a “livable wage”, minimum wage

$15,080. This is how much a person who works at a minimum wage job for 40 hours a week every week at a $7.25 wage earns. The poverty line for a family of four is $24,600, according to Families USA. Many people think, “no one who supports a family of four will be at a minimum wage job”, but the reality is that the average minimum wage earner is 35 years old, and more 25% of them are parents. In addition, they earn half of their family’s income on average. So, even if there were two people in a household earning the minimum wage at a full- time job, their annual income would only be $30,160, just $5,560 over the federal minimum wage for a family of four and $1,380 above the minimum wage for a family of five. This is unacceptable for the United States, a country that prides itself on its prosperity and opportunities. Minimum wage earners are held back from dreaming and searching for new opportunities because every last cent and effort is put towards putting a roof over their heads and food on the table. It is morally irresponsible for the United States to not raise the minimum wage.

“We can no longer tolerate growing patches of poverty and injustice in America-substandard wages, unemployment, city slums, inadequate medical care, inferior education, and the sad plight of migrant workers” stated President John F. Kennedy during a U.S. Senate meeting on August 10, 1960. What amazes me is that this was stated 57 years ago and we are still dealing with the same problems today. I will be discussing the effects of a low minimum wage, some conflicts and rewards for an increased minimum wage, and legislature on this matter. Minimum wage is defined by the minimum wage that an employer must legally pay its workers, with the first ever law on minimum wage being executed in New Zealand in 1894. In the United States, the first minimum wage law was not executed until 1938 with the passage of The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA.) The law legally set a wage of $0.25 per hour for workers.

Close to 2.2 million workers struggle in their everyday lives to survive on minimum wage. This may seem a minority when compared to the daring number representing the US population of 323.1 million. The problem lies within the depths of society and tests our sense of right and wrong. As a collective society, is it right to prosper as an individual before lending a hand to those in need, or is it more ethical to grow as a society? Statistics have shown that properly allocating the country's finances to increase low incomes will reduce poverty, helping people afford their basic needs and ultimately reduce the overall government spending.

There are some theories that suggest different methods to fix the issue that people are having with this. One of the biggest issues in America is poverty, so some groups think that if more jobs were created that more people could be getting earnings rather than being without a job. This doesn't fix the minimum wage issue, but it provides more people with revenue. If the minimum wage was raised to say, 10 dollars an hour, almost one million people would rise from poverty, but it could very well result in the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs. For each positive happening, there is a downside. For each downside, there is a bit of good that comes from it. With minimum wage, the line is very foggy.

Imagine counting spare change everyday hoping you have enough money to buy something to eat because your child has been in a state of hunger for what feels like years. The child is in a drab state, her young once bright eyes becoming duller by the day. Imagine just for a quick second that you don't have anything to give her, you can simply pray that she can escape this hell of a life one day. And what if you were doing all that you could for her by working three menial, minimum wage jobs and still couldn’t provide her with all that she needed? That’s exactly what is affecting millions of families across the nation. This issue is seen as a vicious circle that will not be resolved unless it is seen as the complex issue that affects our citizens in such a way that many would not be able to survive on this level.

How does minimum wage work? Is it enough? Do we need to lower it or higher it? Yes, the base pay has gone higher this year. It didn't go up by much but it did go up by about 50 cents. Millions of the lowest wage workers across the country have or will get a raise of it due to the changes being done. Admitting in many places they will be adding up to 1 dollar or more it's not so convenient for others. Even though it might not sound like so much it will provide someone who might want to work everyday wanting to make more money. Working more hours is an easier way of having a bit more cash in your pockets even though they're not offering as many as you may want. It is said to rise in approximately 20 states, including cities. There's a high chance in other states it will probably take longer for it to higher up but it will eventually. Although some including the United States are lucky enough to have it at $10.50 an hour because in other places they are 3 dollars lower or maybe even less some can make up two cents for working all day, which isn't enough for a living. It's a privilege to have it the way United states do.

Throughout the United States, 14.5% of the population lives in poverty, over 45 million people. They may not have enough food to eat, or may worry about where their next meal will come from. Exact percentages for homelessness are debated, but somewhere over 578,000 people are homeless each night. (Macionis, 2017) Minimum wage is another hotly debated topic, with one side arguing for increases and the other for it to remain the same. One point that is not debatable is that the price of necessities such as rent and food are increasing. It is my personal belief that the cost of living is rising much faster than minimum wage is. Further, it is my opinion that minimum wage is barely enough to support a single person, not to mention a family, and that the so called American Dream is out of reach for most of America.

As of 2017, the U.S. federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour (“Federal”). Depending on where one lives, this wage is just fine, but for others it is much too low. It is impossible for the U.S. government to set a minimum wage that is equitable across all areas of the country. On top of that, a sizeable minimum wage increase would eliminate many jobs throughout the country. Finally, an increase in minimum wage would cause employers to look for other, less expensive ways to increase productivity. Even though increasing the minimum wage would benefit some people, it is impossible for the federal government to dictate an equitable minimum wage for all areas of the country. Therefore, the states that know and understand their own economics should be in charge of setting their own minimum wage.

Minimum wage is defined as the lowest amount of money one can pay his/her employees per hour of labor. The Minimum Wage Debate has being going on since The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 which established a law that would increase the current minimum wage of $5.15 in 2007 to the current wage of $7.25. The act called for a change to made over in three years. Many supporters state that it will help decrease the percentage of poverty in the U.S. while also increasing the standard of living. Those who oppose tend to believe that it will cause an increase in unemployment while also be putting the low skilled workers in harm's way.

Millions of Americans are left suffering from a lack of change. Minimum wage has been an issue of interest for many recently due to the fact that it has not been changed in nearly a decade. The debate stems from how high the minimum wage should be with some advocates saying it should stay at $7.25 and others wanting to raise it as high as $15. Both parties have taken extensive research and conducted countless experiments to prove themselves to be the right choice. I do believe that the minimum wage should be raised, but only to the point that the average American could survive off of a typical 40 hour week. This amount should be equivalent to a Universal Basic Income. This reasoning comes from the fact that too many cannot survive on the current minimum wage and variations of a U.B.I. have already been tested showing the program would be successful.

The United States is an amazing and unique country. Millions of confident, motivated and hardworking people moved here, to live the American dream. This wonderful land of opportunities is a capitalistic country where, thanks to its free market environment, everything can be achieved with hard work, big commitment and fearless attitude. But even here, in this rich and blessed country, not everyone can manage to make his or hers dreams come true, even worse, many people are considered to live below a poverty line. Of course, poverty in the United States cannot be compared to poverties on the global level, as general poverty line is 1.9 dollars a day per person, when in the United States poverty line is at 16 dollars a day per person. Never the less, it is very difficult to survive in America while making minimum wage, especially if the person should also support a family with this paycheck.