Analysis Of In The Minimum Wage Debate By Rex Huppke

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.

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.

There are many valuable reasons why people suppose a raise in minimum wage. One significant claim is how this raise would benefit minimum wage workers. According to the article “Should We Raise The Minimum Wage? 11 Questions and Answers,” Jordan Weissmann argues that raising the minimum wage would make many families’ lives more financially stable without a

Since 1938, when the minimum wage was first introduced (at a rate of $0.25 an hour), the federal minimum wage has increased 22 times. The minimum wage is the salary floor, or the lowest possible rate that employers can pay employees.

Rex Huppke, a writer for the Chicago tribune,writes about how raising the minimum wage may not be as positive as the society and economy as Americans are lead to believe. After interviewing many specialist and professors concerning this subject, he concludes that despite what other newspapers are saying raising the minimum wage could damage the economy. As an effect of what the media are saying this article was written to inform the public of the real cost of raising the minimum wage.

There are a lot of opinions about raising the minimum wage, “a higher minimum wage may actually boost job creation” by Harold Meyerson, points out the benefits of increasing the minimum wage across the country, but also mentions the opinion of Republicans that are against of this issue. “A recent study by the Congressional Budget Office argued that a raise would increase the wages of 16.5 million Americans — at least 33 times the number of those who might lose jobs — and elevate 900,000 people out of poverty.” (Congressional Budget Office,

Raising minimum wage has been a debate for quite some time now. President Roosevelt started minimum wage in 1938. When minimum wage was first set, Roosevelt had set minimum wage at $0.25 an hour. Since then, minimum wages had gradually increased to $7.25 an hour and has not been risen since July 2009. According to an article on ProCon.org, “congress has increased federal minimum wage 22 times.” When making such a decision, pros and cons should be weighed. People should also remember that minimum wage may be different from state to state. For Example, Michigan is where I’m from and minimum wage has increased to $8.90, as of January 1, 2017. Other examples include; California at $10.50, Arizona at $10.00, and Massachusetts at $11.00. Because everyone has different feelings about whether to raise minimum wage, weighing the Pros and Cons is very important for congress in making the right decision. For the citizens of the United States and for their future. I believe that the Pros outweigh the Cons.

Despite polls show that about three-quarters of Americans favor a higher minimum wage, the debate has continued for years now. With the opposing side only having one soul argument against raising the minimum wage- that argument being based upon the possibility of job

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

Quinn and Castle explains why the government should raise the minimum wage and why it’s just common sense. They emphasis that it’s time for Congress to move ahead with this issue, one broadly supported by Americans before the article begins. The authors even show how as of today, as many as three quarters of Americans support an increase in minimum wage, with data polls disclosing majorities of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans in favor of the much need increases in the minimum wage. The authors also explain that by raising the minimum wage how it would save taxpayers billions of

In 1938, the Federal Government established a minimum wage through the Fair Labor Standards Act, during the Great Depression. Its stated purpose was to keep American workers out of poverty and increase consumer purchasing power to help stimulate the economy. President Franklin Roosevelt, understood that the minimum wage should be a living wage, he stated “by living wages, I mean more than a bare subsistence level — I mean the wages of a decent living.” Today, the Minimum wage is critical for ensuring that hard work is rewarded with fair pay. However, its value has eroded substantially, factors such as inflation and rising prices are decreasing its purchasing power, and the minimum wage is no longer what it used to be, despite decades of economic growth. Today, a family can no longer live on minimum wage; and a single person working full time on minimum wage is barely above the poverty line. When President Obama gave his 2013 State of the Union address, he advocated raising minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10-yet a year later, this still hasn’t happened. For many working Americans a higher minimum wage will make the difference between living in poverty or not, furthermore it provides a stepping stone into the middle class for many families. If the minimum wage is increased to equal a current living wage, the income inequality gap will decrease and the quality of life for those living on minimum wage salaries will increase,

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

In 2015, 78.2 million workers were paid at hourly rates. Which makes up 58.5 percent of all the wages and salary workers in the United States. Amongst those 870,000 workers earned exactly $7.25 per hour. The average household earns about $15,080 annually for a full- time minimum wage worker. ("Increasing the Minimum Wage: Pros & Cons"). Minimum wage is the lowest wage that employers can legally pay their employees. The United States minimum wage was initially set at $0.25 per hour by The Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938. ("UC Davis Center for Poverty Research"). Due to a drastic increase for the cost of living since the early 1900s it has then been increased to $7.25 an hour. The minimum wage should

The minimum wage is the lowest possible wage that employers can legally pay their workers. Today, it seems like everyone has their own opinion on the minimum wage. Should it be abolished, raised, or should it remain the same? I will talk about the pros and the cons of raising the minimum wage as well as my own opinion if it should be raised or if it should stay the same.

Let’s discuss the implication of implementation of minimum wage further by looking at its pros and cons in relation to general population, government and business.