Pros And Cons Of The Minimum Wage

There are 156. 4 million people in the US workforce, however 5.2% of those are unemployed. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour; however, each state has its own laws regarding minimum wage and the amount can be higher or lower than the federal minimum, but the employee receives the higher of the two (2015). A higher minimum wage means that employers are less apt to hire someone. Some experts explain this by saying that if an employer values the job at a lower wage per hour than the minimum wage set by the government, then the employer is less likely to hire someone to fill that role. The employer only wants to hire someone when that person will be able to generate some sort of value for the company and positively affect the bottom line. Another problem with a high minimum wage is that potential employees are less likely to want to work if they are able to receive unemployment benefits from the government that will almost equal that which they would receive from working a minimum wage job (Gillikin).

Can you live off $7.25 an hour? Would you be able to pay all your bills, and have plenty of money left over for food, as well as personal pleasures? Imagine your salary was cut down to a forty-hour work week at the minimum wage salary in your state. Can you save money while on a minimum wage hourly salary? These same questions are on the minds of many Americans that are currently facing these struggles every time they receive a paycheck. For several reasons, the minimum wage should rise to $10.10 nationwide. This would be an adequate amount for most employees to support themselves and have some money to save or spend in the open market which would in

Although it is not a new topic in America, the decision to raise the minimum wage continues to be controversial, especially in the political realm. The political parties still move to block the opposing party from successfully implanting their ideals, causing either nothing to be accomplished or the situation to worsen. Research shows that raising the minimum wage a reasonable amount would lessen the gap between the rich and the poor, continue to fulfill its original purpose of protecting workers and keeping the economy in a healthy state, and contain more advantages with a minute influence on employment rates.

Minimum wage is typically favored by society and seen as a way to raise the incomes of those under or at the poverty level, but despite it’s good intentions it at its current levels it barely keeps many families out of poverty. (Sharp, et al., 2013., p. 76) According to the Pew Research Center the Federal when adjusted for inflation the minimum wage peaked in 1968 and has lost 8.1% of it’s purchasing power. (Desilver, 2015.) Though minimum wage is not an effective tool of improving distribution of income or necessarily a good anti-poverty tool. (Sharp, et al., 2013., pp. 87, 89) Despite a minimal increase in 2009 the minimum wage still does not reflect the change in inflation since the end of the 1960s and should rest around $12. (Desilver,

Minimum wage is a becoming more of an issue in the United States of America. Some argue that it needs be raised, this is so they can have more money available towards helping their family and paying off many various debts. This topic arises from changing living conditions and public views about the poor (Dreier). It would benefit the nation if the government could put in place a national minimum wage raise, or maybe make it a requirement that businesses make it slightly easier for all of their employees to earn a raise. Those against the raise generally don’t have a solution but they simply want it to stay the same and would prefer an individually earned raise, rather than everyone automatically getting one.

Usually it is those who work in fast food, young, and low level jobs that work for minimum wage. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “In 2012, there were 3.6 million hourly paid workers in the United States with wages at or below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. These workers made up 4.7 percent of the 75.3 million workers age 16 and over who were paid at hourly rates.” Of course with the raise of minimum wage, comes the raise of inflation. Inflation affects everyone as well whether you get a raise in pay or not. “Despite the increases, inflation has eroded its value; returning it to the value it held in 1968 would require an increase to nearly $10 per hour. In his 2013 State of the Union address, President Obama called for raising the minimum wage to $9 per hour, which in adjusted terms would put it back at its early 1980s level” (John Wibhey). Sadly, our money no longer hold the value it once did and the subsequently affects

Does one make enough money to get by? Well many people do not and those people struggle paying for food, bills, and daily needs. Due to this, people are trying to get a law passed to raise the minimum wage. Minimum Wage Laws is a big topic in today's world. At the same point, some people believe that everything will end up the same. This is because once you raise the minimum wage, you raise the cost of living. When more people start making more, businesses will start raising the prices of items, causing it to be the same as it was before, just with more money involved. There are many ways that people could favor or dislike the idea of this law. Many people have different opinions; therefore, there are pros and cons to minimum wage laws.

“It is as important to examine what we forgo, as well as what we will get if we choose one alternative over another.” In other words, before a change is implemented into an economy, careful consideration of all other alternatives and their possible outcomes must be thoroughly examined. However, unforeseen outcomes often arise due to the imperfectability of humans.

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

With many people in the modern day working for minimum wage jobs, especially young adults, there has been an outbreak in protests with many working under these conditions arguing that the minimum wage should be increased from 7.25 to at least 10.00 dollars an hour. It is found that “45% of minimum wage workers are aged 16-24” (US Department of Labor). What is not known to this age group and others working in minimum wage is that there can be unpredicted consequences of raising the federal minimum wage. This list of cons that can come along with a rising minimum wage includes the forcing of businesses to lay off workers, the hurting and closing of businesses, the rise in consumer good prices, and the tendency for companies to replace workers

Minimum wage has been a major discussion in our country approximately two dozen times ever since it was instituted in 1938 with the Fair Labor Standards Act. In the beginning, employers complained and argued because of their mindset that the raise was now another “cost.” Now, none of them have complained because they can afford to send their children to high quality colleges and they can take a Sunday drive in their Cadillacs. They did not see in 1938 that the raise is not a “cost,” as they had considered it. It allows for a decrease in poverty, and allows companies who can rise with the economy to thrive while those who cannot now leave an opening for a company who is willing to follow the new guidelines successfully.

The minimum wage should not be raised. Most Americans would more likely be in favor of increasing our current minimum wage. However, in reality increasing minimum wage can damage our economy. Increasing it would actually result in higher unemployment hurting low-skilled workers, will have little effect on reducing poverty, and increase to higher prices for consumers.

There are many pros and cons when it comes to raising the minimum wage. The cons outweigh the pros dramastically when it comes to this subject. Here are some examples on why raising the minimum wage is not a good idea and is bad. It raises prices for the customer's, job cuts, and over all it is more about politics and votes then is is to actually help the american people.

The jobs that pay close to the minimum wage are extremely important to the united states labor force. It is estimated that a change in the minimum wage would affect nearly 30% of the entire labor force in the US. The main demographic that would be effected by a change in the minimum wage is males and females ages sixteen to thirty. This demographic encompasses a large amount of high school and college students. Although they are the majority, there are also a vast number on people thirty and above who aren’t students that will be effected by a change in the minimum

Workers that are paid the Federal Minimum wage are in a constant state of stress, and are trying to make ends meet by working a job that requires much more than just showing up to work for most of them it is cleaning, or working fast food which can be physically and mentally draining even though it does not seem like a tough job it is. For example, say you’re a McDonald’s employee, and you see hundreds of customers a day and are constantly filling orders or having to listen to complaints of angry customers complaining about their burger that they spent a whole dollar on while you have to stand there and listen to them. Now think about this, all of those workers come in every day and have to do that while making probably half of the average American salary, they hardly ever get overtime and feel as they are worked to death, yet they have no choice except to keep working because many of them dropped out of school when they were younger or just simply lack the skills needed for a higher paying job.