Raising The Minimal Wage For New York City

“A 15 percent increase in the minimum wage nationwide would destroy about 290,000 to 590,000 young people's jobs, and about 400,000 to 800,000 jobs overall” (Henderson, David R). Due to the Fair labor Standards act, the federal minimum wage, or the lowest you can pay an employee for work, currently stands at $7.25 an hour. Although a number of Americans think that raising the minimum wage would benefit our country, it would actually bring a number of problems to our economy, such as a rise in job loss and high school dropout.

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.

The first federal minimum wage mandated by the government was in 1938. When the first minimum wage became law in 1938, it was set at just 25 cents. Today, the federal minimum wage mandated by the government is set at $7.25 an hour. “Many states have their own set minimum wages, which are currently above $7.25 per hour already. Currently, 29 states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) have minimum wages above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. D.C. 's new wage of $10.50 an hour makes it the first jurisdiction to cross the $10 threshold among the states,” (Halvorson). The last time that the federal minimum wage mandated by the government was changed was over 8 years ago. “The last time Congress voted to raise the minimum wage to its current rate of $7.25 an hour was on May 24, 2007. Since then, the cost of life 's essentials has shot up. Groceries cost 20% more, a gallon of gas costs 25% more, and average tuition at a community college increased 44%. But the minimum wage remains at

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) compiled a comprehensive report in 2014 about the effects of a $9 and $10.10 increase to the federal minimum wage. The CBO reports that raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour could likely lead to the destruction of 500,000 jobs

Now the question is what is minimum wage. “An amount of money that is the least amount of money per hour that workers must be paid according to the law” (Merriam Webster’s learner’s dictionary). According to United States department of Labor “The federal minimum wage for covered nonexempt employees is $ 7.25 per hour effectively July 24, 2009” (Department of labor/ Minimum wage).

Living in Bushwick commuting to school four days a week to Coney Island, and going to work four days a week at Rite Aid in Sunnyside, Queens, is more overwhelming than what it sounds. Working overnight from Monday to Friday, earning minimum wage and being taxed on top of that isn’t enough due to prices of gas, food, and necessities sky-rocketing. The job pays $7.25 per hour but I make a $0.75 differential for working the night shift. It’s difficult to be a student and work when you only have yourself as a form of financial support. There are days I don’t sleep and hours before I get a meal, because I get trapped by my living expenses, its long before I am able to splurge on luxuries and wants. Nevertheless, it has become challenging to

The minimum wage is intended to protect workers and fight poverty. In the United States, the federal government sets the minimum wage at $7.25 per hour although many states set higher minimums. There is currently a movement to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour. This movement is called the “Living Wage Movement” (Living Wage Resource Center, 2016) or the “Fight for $15” (Fortunato, 2016) and purports to address the problem of poverty in America.

"According to a 2014 Congressional Budget Office report, increasing the minimum wage to $9 would lift 300,000 people out of poverty, and an increase to $10.10 would lift 900,000 people out of poverty.” Currently the federal minimum wage is $7.25. The government should raise the minimum wage to $9.25 per hour. We need to raise the minimum wage to the point where the lowest paid worker can afford their basic needs. Raising the minimum wage would strengthen the workforce and the economy.

As John Wihbey states in his article “Minimum Wage: Updated research roundup on the effects of increasing pay” if the Fair Labor Standards Act were to have increased at the same rate as inflation the minimum wage would be around $10.00 per hour. This article is once again stating that the minimum wage should be increased. Yes, I do find that increasing by nearly $3.00 per hour is a little outrageous but, I do feel that the minimum wage could see a slight increase to around $8.00 or $9.00 per

Throughout the United States, minimum wage is approximately $7.25 per hour. An individual who is working a 40-hours per week will make $15,080 per

Have you ever thought about feeding a family and paying the necessary bills on $7.25 per hour? If you answer “no,” then think about this. With this type of salary you could not cover your rent in most parts of the United States, much less feed your family. In this day and time this feat cannot be achieved without raising the minimum wage. If our current government does not raise the minimum wage than a person earning minimum wage would need to work two or three jobs just to keep up with inflation.

Another change was made in 1955 to one dollar per hour from 75 cents. In 1961 it rose again to $1.25 per hour. In 1966, the minimum wage was upped again to $1.60 per hour, but this increase was gradual over time as opposed to the prior increases. From 1977 to 1981 the FLSA gradually raised the minimum wage to $3.35 an hour. The 1989 FLSA amendment increased the minimum wage to $4.25 per hour, also in stages.

In the 2014 State of the Union address, President Obama called on Congress to raise the national minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour, and soon after signed an Executive Order to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 for the individuals working on new federal service contracts. An increase in the minimum wage has been a topic of

However, the comptroller suggested it should be raised to at least $240 for a 16-hour shift or $120 for an 8-hour shift, which is equivalent to $15 an hour.4 Despite the fact that the legislation to raise minimum wage was passed at around the same time as the report by comptroller was posted, a better adjustment would be to increase wages to $17.50 an hour in New York

Today "the federal minimum wage" is $7.25 per hour since July 24, 2009. It has failed to keep up with inflation. The