Public Policy Is Minimum Wage

Raising minimum wages is a contestable issue because it is debated in wide and varied audiences. Minimum wage is near the top of economists’ interest; they are looking for the connection between low wages and poor job markets. Each country sets its own laws and regulations regarding wages. For this reason, it has significant importance to policy makers and workers in each of those respective countries. Social activists have also found interest in the topic due to the fact that those who earn a minimum wage tend to come from poor minority families. Furthermore, the average American should have the strongest interest in the conversation because most citizens have been paid a minimum wage at some point in their life. Due to this fact, the idea of a significant federal minimum wage increase in America is open for debate specifically to rejuvenate the job industry, improve living conditions for citizens, and strengthen the economy as a whole.

The minimum wage is a political issue on many levels with consequences that are predictable, as long as politics controls the choices of this issue. Minimum wage comprises of receiving around $6-7 dollars per hour and the question concerning whether “the standards and guarantees are still being met” is still in the air. The Fair Labor

On Saturday, June 25, 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed 121 bills. Among these bills was a landmark law in the United States’ social and economic development—Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) or otherwise known as the Wages and Hours Bill. This new law created a maximum forty-four hour workweek, guaranteed “time-and-a-half” for overtime hours in certain jobs, banned oppressive child labor, and established the nation’s first minimum wage. By definition, a minimum wage is the lowest wage permitted by law or by a special agreement (such as one with a labor union). Throughout the years, the minimum wage has been a central debate topic for the socioeconomic world and now in 2014, the debate has broken through the surface once

Our entire society in the United States is complicating whether or not our nation should raise the federal minimum wage. Ranging from researchers who have been studying this incompatible topic throughout their entire lives to amateurs who simply expose their opinions without any logical reasoning to the public are still not able to come to an agreement for a stable minimum wage. Many citizens may assume that increasing the minimum wage, $7.25, an hour, by a couple dollars may not make a significant impact to our economy. However, there still coexists a complex reason behind this whole topic that is currently disabling our society to contemplate on a solution. Generally, most traditionalists who believe that increasing the minimum wage may hurt the young and unskilled workers in an economical perspective. On the other hand, a vast majority of researchers may believe that this opportunity wouldn’t kill jobs and may even give the economy a boost by allowing more low-income workers to spend more on necessities. This controversial issue may be the only fire that will never die out in the United State’s economical history.

In the United States, the minimum wage was passed during the Great Depression in 1938 to protect the buying power of normal workers in a period in which the “unemployment rate was still a very high 19 percent” (Sklar, 2009, p. 1). Since that time, there has been significant debate about the controversial topic of raising the federal minimum wage. The federal minimum wage law was created to eliminate unfair practices of sweat shops and manufacturing companies during this time period. Thus, the minimum wage is defined as the smallest salary that an employer is legally allowed to pay employees for their work. Since the time of the Great Depression, minimum wage has been utilized to guarantee that employees are paid

Presently, the citizens of the United States of America are involved in an impassioned debate over the federal minimum wage. As of October 5, 2016, the federal minimum wage is set at seven dollars and twenty-five cents an hour. There are numerous amounts of stakeholders when it comes to minimum wage. The three stakeholders mentioned in this essay will be Companies, Employees, and the Economy. In addition to the stakeholders, this essay will also dig into the history of the United States Federal Minimum Wage and see how it has progressed over the years and if it kept up with inflation over the years. With this information, society will see what an increase to the federal minimum wage will have on the United States economy and labor force.

In recent news, President Barack Obama has pledged to support an increase to the minimum wage of at least 9 dollars per hour. He also supports indexing the minimum wage according to inflation (Doyle, 2013). This would create an increase in the minimum wage whenever the cost of living rises. During his 2013 State of the Union Address, President Obama “argued that hiking the minimum wage would improve the lives of millions of workers and their families” (Jamieson, 2013, para. 9). The Obama Administration backs legislation brought to Congress by Senator Tom Harkin and Representative George Miller. Because the two men feel that a hike to $9 would not be enough, they support increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 (Jamieson, 2013). Unfortunately, in March 2013, the House struck down hopes for passing this minimum wage bill for a value of $10.10. Many reasons were given for the event, but, namely, there was division within the Democratic Party (Dinan, 2013). Now, the federal minimum wage remains at $7.25 per hour and this last increase was made back in 2009 (Doyle, 2013). The debate over minimum wage can be found at all levels of society from the

In America and countries around the world, we face a universal problem: poverty. Among many options, a widespread solution for this problem is the implementation of a minimum wage. Aside from the US, countries such as Luxembourg, Belgium, and Ireland all have set minimum wages(Petroff). Minimum wage was first established during the Great Depression when President John F.Kennedy was striving to help the economy and lift many Americans out of poverty(Day). At the time, the minimum wage was $0.25 an hour, which corresponds to about $3.98 an hour in today’s money(Minimum Wage). Since then, the minimum wage has steadily increased to today’s $7.25 an hour. With the fluctuating economy, people’s views and opinions on the subject have swayed every which way throughout the years, with minimum wages rising and falling over different cities, states and countries. The imminent truth is that people simply need more money, with around 60% of the population already in poverty (Dunkelberg). Often times, people are very liberal with this issue and suggest that America raise the minimum wage drastically to $15.00 an hour. The face of the proposition is a pretty one, suggesting that everyone gets more money, so how could one say no? While increasing the minimum wage has had some small benefits, especially from an employee’s perspective, the success of this idea proves to be a facade on the face of the future

A minimum wage is the lowest hourly wage that employers have to compensate the workers for their service. Currently the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. However, many states also have their own minimum wage laws. In those instances, the employee is entitled to the higher of the two minimum wages. In this paper we will discuss the brief history of the minimum wage law and its current legislation. We will also analyze the pros and cons of raising the minimum wage, and the merits of each argument.

In 1938, The United States enacted a minimum wage law under the Fair Labor Standards Act that made employers pay their workers at least twenty-five cents. The law was intended to reduce the amount of Americans living in poverty and keep track of unjust business practices. Still to this day, we Americans argue over the controversy due to low minimum wage and high inflation rates. The deregulation of business and the inconsistent government policies have led to an alarming problem, the minimum wage isn’t enough for Americans to live off of nor is it doing its original purpose by getting citizens out of poverty.

As of 2009, the federal minimum wage established by U.S. Labor Law is of $7.25 per hour- income that is not enough to cover the expenses of an individual or family and therefore creates numerous economic and politic controversies. The inability to keep up with paying the bills and housing, spending money on healthcare and childcare- created a society of marginalized groups of people who face troubling barriers to opportunity and development. Consequently, a satisfactory standard of living can be achieved by implementing a living wage, which theoretically allows the employees to afford decent shelter, food, and other everyday essentials.

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

One of the most acrimoniously debated problems in American society today is the debate over the minimum wage. The minimum wage, established in 1938 by President Roosevelt, was made to be a safety net for people who provided unskilled labor, but also needed to provide for themselves. Up until that point, people had no guarantee that they would be paid. The minimum wage was quite literally one of the only lines of defense unskilled workers had in harsh times, such as near the end of the Great Depression. In today’s society, the minimum wage is still a means by which unskilled workers can provide for themselves, but many people have lost track of what it originally meant. The minimum wage is no longer specifically meant for people in dire need, having to take the first job they find. People now perceive it to be something into which they can settle, even in today’s society, where opportunities for hard workers to be promoted are frequent and encouraged. Despite the chances people have to seek out promotions, most $15 minimum wage proponents believe that they are entitled to having the minimum wage increased because they believe it would put them at a “livable wage” and that businesses owe them higher pay because of the cash flows they generate. As a federally mandated expense to businesses, it is critical for people to consider the possible negative outcomes of trying to forcibly make businesses, whether large or small, pay an increased minimum wage as drastic as $15. Not only will it negatively affect the U.S. economy, but it will also put minimum wage workers at the same level of disadvantage, if not more.

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,

In this article, the author discusses the significance of living wages for workers in the US. The author explains that over the past decades, families have been unable to keep in stride with the cost of living, due to low income. While jobs are being created, they do not provide sufficient wages for many families. Additionally, due to the requirements of some federal assistance programs, individuals must accept these employments, regardless of pay. As the economy has grown, the wages remains the same and many minimum wage earners fall below the poverty line.