Political Involvement os Power of the Public

In the United States, public policy is shaped by multiple factors, from average citizens voices in elections to interest groups and organizations. In their study, “Testing theories of American politics”, scholars Benjamin Page and Martin Gilens explore the impact of average citizens, the economic elite and interest groups have on the passage of public policy. Additionally through their, Page and Gilens(2014) have found “that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while mass-based interest groups and average citizens have little or no independent influence” (Pg 535). This means that when it comes to the creation of public policies, rich people and groups

There are a lot of people around the world who struggle with money and a satisfactory way of life. Whether they be in the United States or across the globe, there is a standard minimum wage set for the working class of their country. In the Unites States, there is a federal minimum wage of seven dollars and twenty five cents per hour worked. Almost every state has another set minimum wage, which typically is a little higher than the federal minimum wage, but it cannot be lower than seven dollars and twenty five cents. Countries set minimum wage laws, to ensure there is a basic quality of life amongst its citizens. As the minimum wage goes up in certain states, the quality of life also improves. The problem with a higher minimum wage, is now people are getting paid higher for entry level jobs which are meant for teenagers and people new to the workforce. If the minimum wage keeps increasing across the country, teenagers and young adults will have a much more difficult time finding jobs.

Raising the minimum wage is a very important public policy issue. Raising the minimum wage is a responsible policy that is supported by research and demanded by the American public. Each day, minimum wage workers across the country struggle to make ends meet and provide a decent life for their kids (Scott & Perez, 2016). Raising the minimum wage is a controversial issue, many believe that raising the minimum wage would only provide low wage workers more money to spend. However, the benefits can be endless for low wage workers. If minimum wage is increased across the United States it would afford the people effected more opportunities for financial freedom. Increasing the minimum wage would raise the standard of living for low wage workers, allow families to be removed from poverty, allow for government welfare spending to be reduced and lastly additional income being spent would positively affect the economy.

The six documents provided in the appendix can be grouped together in many different ways. Although all of the documents imply ways their respective empires exerted political power, there were some distinctions between them. Additionally, all of the documents incorporate their respective cultures’ beliefs into their governments and methods for exerting political power. Document 1, for example, shows that the Persians incorporated their value of bravery into their method of exerting political power, military conquests. The Greeks and Romans in Documents 2 and 6 incorporated their value of freedom into their methods of exerting political power. The Greeks incorporated freedom by boating about their free democracy while the Romans included the

As John Wihbey states in his article “Minimum Wage: Updated research roundup on the effects of increasing pay” if the Fair Labor Standards Act were to have increased at the same rate as inflation the minimum wage would be around $10.00 per hour. This article is once again stating that the minimum wage should be increased. Yes, I do find that increasing by nearly $3.00 per hour is a little outrageous but, I do feel that the minimum wage could see a slight increase to around $8.00 or $9.00 per

The issue at large is whether or not to increase the minimum wage in the United States to fifteen dollars. Many organizations are affiliated with minimum wage, including many corporations that implement extremely, very basic, entry level positions where minimum wage is a suitable payment; such as Wal-Mart and McDonalds. The minimum wage varies across the spectrum from state to state. In January 1, 2015 the highest paid minimum wage by state is in Washington with $9.47 an hour and the lowest is Wyoming, along with twenty-four other states, at $7.25 an hour (RaiseTheMinimumWage). The increase in minimum wage from years preceding is mainly due to inflation. If an increase to the minimum wage is called for, it must be

Should minimum wage in the United States increase? This is a challenging issue in politics today. According to Alan B. Krueger, the minimum wage, at the federal level is $7.25 and has been since 2009 (par. 1). State governments take it in their own hands and raise the minimum wage their selves (Krueger, par. 4). Congress is debating if it is necessary for the entire country to raise the minimum to $10.10 and eventually somewhere between $12.00 and $15.00 (Krueger, par. 2). But, there is an inconsistency in this topic; this is whether the minimum wage should stay the same or if it should be raised by the federal government. This inconsistency has to do with a small group in the United States that has authority over policy making, which is different

The debate over raising the minimum wage has been a hot topic ever since President Obama introduced the bill at the 2014 State of The Union Address. He intends to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10, an increase of over 40%. While the President claims this idea to be beneficial to the economy, studies show otherwise.

Minimum wage has only been around in the United States (US) for a short period of time. Since 1938, the minimum wage has undergone many changes in its laws and regulations and has been raised to extreme amounts in some states. Today states must provide at least the equivalent minimum wage set by the federal government. Some states, however, chose to raise the minimum wage rate higher than that set by the federal government. In those states, the citizens will protest to get higher wages so that they can live more comfortably.

In addition to this, states can set their own minimum wage. According to the FLSA, if states enact laws that are more protective than what is provided by the FLSA, the state law applies. As of 2015, 29 states and D.C. have minimum wages above the federal minimum wage. Ten states and D.C. currently index minimum wage increases every year. The District of Columbia currently has the highest minimum wage at a rate of $10.50 an hour (Natonal Conference of State Legislatures , 2015).

Many people in the state argue that raising the minimum wage would decrease the number of people who receive welfare benefits; however, there are many side effects of raising the minimum wage. Along with the wages being higher, there would also be a large increase in taxes, social security, workman’s compensation, as well as the unemployment compensation. Small businesses would suffer greatly from the wage increase. Small towns or cities would see a sharp increase in prices for food, housing, as well as for services. Raising minimum wage could also possibly create more unemployment to make up for lost

The Federal government mandates laws to help protect and serve the people of the United States of America. Citizens always have a say in the matter with the power of their vote or by letting their Congressional representatives know of their support or upset of the current policies. One of the most recent concerns is that of the minimum wage and its ability to provide a living for the workers that are at jobs that provide this minimal benefit. Although, a minimum wage increase will not provide enough income for a current livable wage. Minimum wage jobs provide the foundations of skills for future success for the current low-skilled sector.

To continue, economic power predicts public policy, but to whom does that “privileged position” belongs to? The answer is simple: business. Businesses are the most dominant group in our politics. According to the evidence presented by Hudson “people who control large business corporations dominate our political process and largely control the public policy outcomes” (224). The main point of this paragraph, will be that market systems imprisons policy. Power in the United States is obtained from economic power more than any other source. For us to understand political power in America one must appreciate the political power held by corporate America. The capacity to “imprison” public policy follows from the fact that, in a capitalist economy,

It has been said that we live in an era where people are looking for more increasing on everything, and they look for the increasing every single day. One of the most political issues that are noticeable in 2014 is the idea of the increasing of minimum wage. An article that was written by a group of journalists in the Governing the State and Localities discusses this issue. They say that President Obama talked about increasing the minimum wage. The minimum wage is 7.5, and he wants to increase this number to be around 9 dollars. There is no doubt this news could bring a lot of happiness to huge number of people, and at the same time, it would rise up some social or economic problems. Although this news about increasing of the minimum wage

Raising the federal minimum wage is a high priority for President Barack Obama, but the issue is mired in debate over whether or not raising the minimum wage would kill jobs. The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 an hour. The White House and some congressional Democrats want to bump it up to $10.10 an hour. As of this past December, a majority of Americans support a raise. On Election Day, voters in Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota approved state-level increases to minimum wages. Many democrats these day have laid claim that in years when the minimum wage was raised the economy also saw a rise in jobs. With that being said none of them have really shown any proof to this claim. So I turned to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For every year Congress increased the minimum wage since 1978, I looked at how much employment grew or shrank a year after the new wage went into effect. The first federal minimum wage went into effect in 1938, but