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Raising Minimum Wage Persuasive Essay

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Almost everybody can remember their first job. Whether it was being a cashier at a grocery store or a fry cook at a fast food restaurant, it is likely that they will all mention the satisfaction of getting their first paycheck, even if it was just minimum wage. Today, minimum wage buys about 20% less than it did in 1981, sparking many debates about whether minimum wage should be raised (“Raise”). Though both sides have compelling arguments, the facts show that raising minimum wage would not be beneficial to the country in the long run. In 2014, about three million people made minimum wage or less. Those people made up about 3.9% of all hourly paid workers (“Characteristics”). This is already an extremely small amount of people when compared to the rest of the population. Going further, 55% of those hourly paid workers making minimum wage or less were 25 years old or younger, and 63% of people making minimum wage or less were not the main source of income for their household (Dorfman). This means that the majority of minimum wage workers are “young, entry-level employees working for experience or a person earning extra money for their family” (Russell). If a majority of this already small group do not even need the money to sustain themselves, why should minimum wage be raised for them? …show more content…

Having a higher minimum wage would mean that the job is worth more, making the job market more competitive. Employers are now forced to spend more per employee, causing more skilled and experienced workers to be desired. Companies may even begin to lay off employees they can’t afford to pay or begin to hire less (Geraghty). The combination of less jobs with stricter requirements would leave inexperienced young people unable to break into labor force, adding to the growing numbers of unemployed workers

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