Raising Minimum Wages: What’s It Really Worth?

Although America is known as the richest country in the world, 43 million of its citizens are in poverty. Unfortunately, some of them work full time, yet are still in poverty due to the low minimum wage (“Should We Raise”). In 1928, the first federal minimum wage of 25 cents per hour was set by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to prevent workers from being underpaid. Since 2009, the federal minimum wage has been $7.25 (Smith). The age old debate of whether or not to raise it is still going on in the US. The federal minimum wage should be increased to keep up with inflation, help support the poor, and stimulate the economy.

The selling point that has brought people to the United States for centuries is the American dream: Prosperity, Luxury, Opportunity, and so on. Unfortunately for many, this dream has been squandered by the receding economy of an indebted country. As inflation runs rampant, the value of the U.S. dollar decreases, lowering the value of household and business incomes. This economic recession has led many, especially those who only earn the minimum wage, to poverty. According to the United States Department of Labor, “The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour” (“Wage and Hour Division”). Some people believe that a solution to this problem is to raise the minimum wage; however, doing so would ultimately result in a negative effect on the

Nationwide government officials often wonder how this country is going to overcome unemployment, and the common misconception is through the provision of low wage jobs. By providing people with some source of income, congress believes millions will no longer depend on government aid. In actuality, however, providing minimum wage work is not going to solve such a drastic problem now, in the future, or at all for that matter. Minimum wage ($5.15), while serving at the socially acceptable pay standard, does not even compare with the nationwide ?living wage? of $10.18 (Ramisch). It is becoming increasingly more difficult to survive on such tragic wages, yet there is often little debate because it is money, and every little bit matters when it comes to paying bills.

There has been many conversations about what the positive impacts can come to America 's lowest income workers as a result of an increase in the minimum wage, and there has also been equally as many discussions over the negative effects the increase can have on similar people. This paper’s purpose is to combine each viewpoint and objectively analyze the arguments for and against an increase in the minimum wage. I will first discuss the benefits for an increase, then the disadvantages, and in the last paragraph, I will

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.

Mike Durant once said, “Making it more expensive to create new jobs is a perfect way to guarantee fewer of them.” The recent, “Raise the Wage” campaigns have sparked an interest in many low-wage workers. However, those who support this initiative are unaware of the economic problems that will arise if this is successful. Several cities have already raised their minimum wages and some, like Seattle, are raising it as high as $15 per hour. Currently, supporters of this campaign argue that the government should implement this increase federally. However, doing so will have broad and adverse financial implications. Ever since the Great Depression, the minimum wage has been in effect — to reduce poverty and solidify that

In the United States alone, the amount of people in poverty is 14.5%. That equates to 45.3 million people in 2013. In a country like America, one of the world’s superpowers, it’s embarrassing to admit. But the main issue is to fix issues like these with the minimum wage and welfare. The minimum wage applies to workers who got a job whether because they were in school or because they had not gone to college and had no other option. Most of the country lives off as minimum wage workers as only 1% of the world’s population has a college degree. Minimum wage needs to be adjusted to modern inflation. But the minimum wage allegedly does not affect poverty at all says a large demographic and does not need to be adjusted. The minimum wage makes up a lot of the country and should be adjusted or modified to today’s standard of living.

. Burkhauser found no evidence that minimum wage increases were effective at lowering overall poverty rates or poverty rates among workers. Even by targeting populations that raising the minimum wage was supposed to protect, such as less educated single mothers, Burkhauser confirms that minimum wage increases did little to alleviate poverty for less educated single mothers as well. Additionally, David Neumark of the University of California-Irvine and William Wascher of the Federal Reserve Board analyzed family-specific flows in and out of poverty as a result of an uptick in the minimum wage. Neumark and Wascher used current population survey data and found that when the minimum wage was increased some workers were lifted out of poverty, but others lost their jobs and found themselves in poverty as a result of raising the minimum wage. Neumark and Wascher’s findings suggest that minimum wage hikes only redistribute income among the poor and near-poor households. Only junior high school dropouts seem

The issue of poverty in America is a growing controversial topic that affects millions of Americans. American citizens are poor and work as much as they can but continuously go in and out of poverty. Very few impoverished Americans have little or no work on a continuous basis, but they tend to stay poor from one generation to the next. Due to the current system of economy and the United States increases in poverty, the American people are in need of a change. The New York Times Editorial Board informs readers and argues that raising the minimum wage would restore the lives of millions of Americans. In the Editorial Board’s article “The Case for a Higher Minimum Wage” they discuss how Republicans perceive the minimum wage in a negative light, the minimum wage is viewed as “the lowest legal hourly rate” (Editorial Board 2). However, the Editorial Board explains the minimum wage is an economic security blanket for millions of Americans. The editorial Board supports their claim that the perception of minimum wage is skewed due to politics by implementing relevant expert opinions and fairly referencing and rebutting counterarguments, which forms a reasonable, credible, and believable argument.

Today, poverty is a substantial economic issue in America. The rising poverty levels are raising the concerns of many people across the country. In order to address this issue, we need to get the government involved in the economy so they can provide relief to the citizens who are living in poverty. I propose that we increase the national minimum wage, provide a more generous Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to families with young children, and provide a significant benefit to individuals without children. These policies provide a good way to boost earnings for people struggling to bring in money and it would most definitely decrease poverty rates across the country. An increase in the national minimum wage is important because it will help

Policymakers in the United States continually struggle to create viable and sustainable solutions to the poverty outbreak that is prevalent in our country. This has become a critical part of the road to recovery from the recent economic recession. One of the main approaches suggested to eradicate the pervasive poverty problem is increasing the minimum wage of American laborers. If adopted, this suggestion is expected to be implemented at both the state and federal levels. This approach is based on good intentions as it is projected to have positive effects on the employment, wages and overall poverty levels in the country. However, increasing the minimum wage will only hurt the low-income earners, less-educated and experienced

There has been many conversations about what the positive impacts can come to America 's lowest income workers as a result of an increase in the minimum wage, and there has also been equally as many discussions over the negative effects the increase can have on similar people. This paper’s purpose is to combine each viewpoint and objectively analyze the arguments for and against an increase in the minimum wage. I will first discuss the

Recently there has been some debate about whether we should raise the minimum wage in America. Now there would be some ups and downs for both of them, but I personally think we should raise it. Mainly because people are barely getting by bill to bill. Plus some people have some kids, they have to take care of and have to buy them food as well. But there would be a risk about the economy and a lot could happen if we just raised maybe if we even raised five dollars. But I have some very key reasons why think we should raise.

The minimum wage increases tend to reduce employment, hurting young and less-educated workers the most. This means that it is highly risky for the proposal to fail to target poor people. Like a trend, job losses have been not avoidable since the earliest imposition of the minimum wage. When considering current job markets, young or less-educated workers already have difficulty finding jobs and gaining important work experience, such mandates will likely make it much

First, government attempts to force businesses to pay “fair” wages have created much of America’s unemployment problems. Ever increasing minimum wage laws only serve to prevent well-meaning employers from hiring those in desperate need of jobs—low-skilled workers. Businesses can only afford to hire employees who make more money for the company than the company pays them. Unfortunately, governments cannot raise the value of people’s labor any more than they can change the acceleration due to gravity or increase the speed of light. As a result, minimum wage laws do not force businesses to pay “fair” wages; they prevent businesses from hiring low-skilled workers who cannot generate enough revenue to counterbalance the legally required salary. Furthermore, some claim poor workers need protection from exploitation, but the evidence points the opposite way. I have watched friends who searched fruitlessly for jobs rejoice when they finally began earning minimum wage, but I have yet to see a