In my report, I will go into detail and show how raising the federal minimum wage would positively effect the economy. In doing so, I will be discussing how an increase in the federal minimum wage would make a vast improvement on the way many low income families live, and also how raising the federal minimum wage would boost the economy as it desperately needs.
In raising the federal minimum wage, one might argue that it would cause a spike in the unemployment rate. The reasoning is that it would force employers to balance the increase in wages that they would have to pay out by cutting their employees to make up for the increase. These claims are debunked in the article “An Increased Minimum Wage is Good Policy Even During Hard Times”. This article was written by Professor T. William Lester, an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina, David Madland, the Director at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, and Nick Bunker, a Special Assistant at The Center for American Progress Action Fund. The article can be quoted as saying “There is a growing consensus among economists and academics that raising the federal minimum wage does not kill jobs even during periods of recession” (Lester, Madland, & Bunker, 2011). Lester, Madland, and Bunker also talk in their article about the many different studies that were carried out in all different areas of the country and during differing times. These studies were all pretty conclusive that an increase in the
It can also be argued that raising the minimum wage would inadvertently have a negative effect on the economy and actually increase poverty. If the minimum wage were to increase from $7.25 to $10.10, the result would be the loss of 500,000 jobs, as predicted by the Congressional Budget Office (Should the Federal). 54% of employers stated that they would lower hiring levels and 38% stated that they
Raise the minimum wage: In the United States, studies show that women tend to make up a disproportionate share of low-wage workers. In the field of education, men tends to go more to STEM than women and that also leads to high paying jobs for men. If we raise the minimum wage, this will help hardworking women to support their families. Approximately, women made up two-thirds of all minimum-wage workers in 2012. With the current federal minimum wage i.e. $7.25 per hour, someone working full time, only earn $15,080 a year round. People working full time with minimum wage is still below the poverty threshold for any family with children and single person is also not far above the poverty line. So, increasing the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour would help increase the wages for about 15 million women, which will help close the gender wage gap.
There is a lot of controversy over whether the minimum wage should be increased to 15$ an hour in all states. Proponents say that current wages in America are not livable because inflation is way higher than the current minimum wage; Minimum wage was 1.60 in 1968, which is equal to 11.60 today. Opponents say that many cannot afford this, will have to close down, make cuts, raise prices and lay off people because they will need to pay them more. Most economists believe that that high of an increase would hurt job growth. I believe that Increasing the minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour nationwide will do more harm than good. Raising the minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour nationwide is too big of a jump and would just cause businesses to cut off workers, force small businesses to close and increase inflation.
On June 16, 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt announced a plan to help raise the United States out of the Great Depression. At the heart of this plan was the idea that wages must be set and fair. “No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country.”(Roosevelt) This plan became the Fair Labor Standards Act, which set the Federal Minimum wage. Minimum wage has increased, slowly, over the years, but has not kept up with its intended purpose. Raising the federal minimum wage to a "fair living wage" level will improve the lives of the working poor, without adverse economic consequences.
The idea of raising the federal minimum wage that has developed nation wide attention, including protesting and arguments, has caused many discussions on why it could potentially help the economy grow and how it could result in the crash of the economy. Many people feel like raising the federal minimum wage is a must, while others think it will destroy the economy. There are many benefits that come with raising the federal minimum wage, but those benefits also come with many disadvantages.
The topic of raising the minimum wage has many different viewpoints. It is thought to be affected negatively and positively. Some believe it increases unemployment and poverty. Others believe it creates jobs, helps the economy and low-income families by giving them more money to give back to the economy.
party does not agree with raising the minimum wage a worker who is working full-time and is making minimum wage is receiving about $14,500 a year.
Raising the minimum wage would establish 85,000 new jobs and would also increase amass household spending by $48 billion the following year (“Should the Federal”). There are no signals shown that a boost in the minimum wage would lower employment. Even though people argue that the authors found “Little or no evidence of negative association
Since September 1, 1991 the federal minimum wage in America has been $7.25; over 30 states have raised their minimum wage to over that amount, and I feel like they should raise the minimum wage to one final salary. It would be extremely difficult to survive on $7.25; To make ends meet, It is most likely that someone working minimum wage will be working more than one job. This can be very hard on families with children because the parents are away so much. Some states that have higher minimum wages like Washington with a $11 an hour make the prices of living higher and so it does not make a major difference in life.
America is a place where the people strive to create equal opportunities in every avenue of life. Every American should have unrestricted access to the options presented before them, allowing them to pursue their life goals and die happy deaths. However, this principle only stands for access to options, it has nothing to do with the advantages and disadvantages of said choices. The American dream is the idea that if you work hard enough, persevere, and really believe in yourself, good things will come. Drastically raising the minimum wage goes against all of those principles, rewarding lethargic actions and poor life choices. Raising the minimum wage to $15 will do more harm than good for middle class americans by decreasing the value of the money in their pockets, driving out big companies, and generally increasing unemployment.
Many argue that raising the minimum wage makes hiring workers more expensive, eliminates jobs at the bottom, slows growth and ultimately raises unemployment. Economic studies show that raising the minimum wage to keep pace with inflation creates little additional harm, but what the president is
Increasing the federal minimum wage isn’t always followed by national job growth, or loss for that matter. There were twelve solid months of job growth following the 1978 increase, but twelve months of job loss following the 2008 increase. That was following the recession in late 2008. Economists are split over what effect minimum wage has on job growth. There’s some research that shows raising the minimum wage negatively impacts job growth, and a lot that shows it has an insignificant effect. A university of Chicago poll asked forty lead economist if raising the federal minimum wage would make it "noticeably harder for low-skilled workers to find jobs.” One of the most thorough reports on this debate comes out of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. The report concludes that the "bulk of the best statistical evidence" shows little to no effect on employment when the minimum wage goes up. Those who say raising the minimum wage results in job loss generally follow the logic that when workers become more expensive, businesses will be less likely to hire them, and unemployment follows. David Neumark is an economist who has researched the issue and believes raising the minimum wage reduces employment for the lowest skilled workers. He noted, though, that the economy has grown over the long term, resulting in job growth in all wage and skill
“Raising minimum wage doesn’t just benefit the workers behind me, it creates a proven ripple effect that increases wages all the way up the scale. Let’s get the facts straight, only twenty percent of people making the minimum wage are teenagers. The rest are hard-working adults, many of them have families, and I mean hard-working” (Biden). Studies have shown that increases in minimum wage prove that the public is overall safer and healthier. Many reports show that seven dollars and twenty five cents, the current minimum wage is a “startvation wage” and is not enough to keep families out of poverty (washington). Minimum wage in Illinois should be raised to benefit the people.
Proponents of raising the minimum wage claim that if the minimum wage was raised, then many economic and social problems would be alleviated. This contention is at odds both with economic principles and years of creditable research. The effect of raising or even having a minimum wage has been studied extensively and the majority of studies have proven that raising a minimum wage does not have the desired effect. Both micro and macroeconomic forces affect the results of raising the minimum wage. The secondary effects of raising the minimum wage are bad both for
The most prevalent and steadfast myth surrounding the raising of the federal minimum wage is that it will doom the economy. This might seem logical at first, but just think about it for a second. Why do minimum wage employees need more cash? The answer is simple: To spend it, to buy the things that they and their families need to survive. “Most minimum wage workers need this income to make ends meet and spend it quickly, boosting the economy. Research indicates that for every $1 added to the minimum wage, low-wage worker households spent an additional $2,800 the following year” (Fair). Furthermore, EPI estimates that if the federal minimum wage were raised to $10.10 an hour, it would result in over