Reducing The Federal Minimum Wage

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

There are many employees who find themselves working full-time for what the government has so generously termed the “minimum wage”. In Missouri, the minimum wage has been set at a rather appalling $7.65 per hour while in other states there are wages starting as high as $10. Though arguably the economy is not as sluggish and terrible as it once was, $7.65 per hour will not help those who have children, no college degree and debts to pay. It is not only Missouri that has minimum wage laws, but every other state in America has minimum wage laws in place. Both California and Seattle recently established a plan that would see their minimum wages rise to $15 by 2021. The question for all the other forty-eight states remains, should the minimum wage be raised?

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

"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.

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.

In a 2015 survey conducted by The New York Times and CBS News, 71% of people surveyed believed the minimum wage should be raised to $10.10 (Should The Federal). The minimum wage has been increased by congress 22 times since 1938 and was last updated to $7.25 on July 24, 2009 (Minimum Wage). 3.3% of workers in the United States get paid the minimum wage or lower (Background of). A federal minimum wage hike would lower poverty levels, decrease spending on government assistance, and increase productivity in jobs.

Should minimum wage be increased? Passage one strongly supports and gives details on why minimum wage should be raised. Many workers are asking for a national minimum wage increase to $15 per hour, while others say that a higher minimum wage will stifle business and ultimately hurt the economy. So, should the minimum wage be increased or not? The federal minimum wage was introduced in 1938 during the Great Depression under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It was initially set at $0.25 per hour and has been increased by Congress 22 times, most recently in 2009 when it went from $6.55 to $7.25 an hour. 29 states plus the District of Columbia (DC) have a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage. 2,561,000 workers earn the federal minimum wage or below.

Since 1938 the federal government for the United States of America has set the minimum wage. The laws were put in place to prevent employers from taking advantage of workers and paying a person less than the mandated amount per hour. At this point the minimum wage has not been increased since 2009 and it is only $7.25 per hour. This means that a person working full time will only gross $15,080 per year, an amount that is well below the poverty line. It is time to raise the minimum wage for several reasons: First, if you take in to account inflation, a person making minimum wage today is making less than a person who made minimum wage in 1968. The minimum wage in 1968 was equal to about $8.68 in 2016 dollars. Second, people earning a good wage is not only good for the worker and his or her family, it is good for society. And finally, raising the minimum wage will act as a stimulus for the economy.

If there is an increase in minimum wage, it will slowly pull people out of poverty. Poverty level for a single person is just under $12,000 per year, but for a household with two kids, it’s over $23,000 per year. At the current minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, a person’s annual salary would be about $15,000 per year. Also, since cost of living varies in different places in the country, the same minimum wage often does not even cover living expenses. Increasing the minimum wage to $9 per hour will lift 300,000 people from poverty. If increased to $10.10 an hour it will lift 900,000 people out of poverty and reduce the number of non-elderly living in poverty. Since young people are most likely to be working minimum wage jobs, they often face other issues associated with making minimum

There is an ongoing debate and controversy between the Democrats and Republicans,whether the minimum wage should be raised or not. Today, minimum wage is set at $7.25. Democrats argue that a mere minimum wage of $7.25 is not enough for most Americans. On the other hand, Republicans believe that raising the minimum wage does not serve a positive purpose to the economy. President Obama proposed increasing the minimum wage by 25%,to nine dollars, in his 2008 inaugural speech, as it would improve the lives of many Americans/the standard of living and spur economic growth.

The idea of having a federal minimum wage is a good one. The idea is to protect low and unskilled workers from discrimination and allow all workers to earn a living wage. The recent debate on the floor, though, is whether or not to raise the minimum wage from the current $7.25 per hour up to $10.10 per hour. President Barack Obama made this proposal during his annual State of the Union Address on January 28, and following this there were many hot debates about it. The debates focused not only on the advantages and the disadvantages of increasing the minimum wage, but also the alternatives to increasing it.

Currently the federal minimum wage in the United States is set at $7.25 but the question many are left asking is “Will it be enough to support myself and my family?” The answer to that question, simply put, is no. A person who works full time all year round will only stand to make $15,080 and that is before taxes yet it takes roughly $30,000 to be economically safe. The amount of pressure being put on congress in recent months is mounting since the minimum wage has remained unchanged for 5 years now and just last year

As of 2017, the U.S. federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour (“Federal”). Depending on where one lives, this wage is just fine, but for others it is much too low. It is impossible for the U.S. government to set a minimum wage that is equitable across all areas of the country. On top of that, a sizeable minimum wage increase would eliminate many jobs throughout the country. Finally, an increase in minimum wage would cause employers to look for other, less expensive ways to increase productivity. Even though increasing the minimum wage would benefit some people, it is impossible for the federal government to dictate an equitable minimum wage for all areas of the country. Therefore, the states that know and understand their own economics should be in charge of setting their own minimum wage.

Did you know that 29 states and Washington, DC has minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25? Washington, DC has the highest minimum wage rate of $11.50 per hour whereas, Georgia and Wyoming have the lowest minimum wage of $5.15 per hour. Rate of unemployment and low-income workers are increasing these days. People turn to public assistance for help because they can’t afford. Economic policy institute said low-income workers receive $45 billion in government assistance each year(Cooper), if the minimum wage were raised millions of Americans would not have to rely on public assistance programs. Minimum wage should be increased because it has numerous benefits such as increasing the employment rate, reducing poverty, increase school attendance, reduce high school drop-outs rate, government welfare spending, federal deficit, race and gender inequality, crimes and increase in healthier population.

The “federal minimum wage has remained the same at $7.25 an hour since 2009” (“DeSilver, Drew”). To many people, it seems like eight years is way too long to wait for the minimum wage to go up. This is the longest time for the minimum wage to increase since 1981 to 1990 where it took nine years for the wage to increase by .40 cents going from $3.35 to $3.80 (“Wage and Hour Division (WHD)”). Other than that, minimum wage increases usually took anywhere between 1 to 5 years. But to be fair, it has changed a lot since the original .25 cents back in 1938 when the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 was created. The minimum wage has increased “22 separate times over the course of the last 78 years” (“UC Davis Center for Poverty Research”). Also, the “wage now covers approximately 130 million workers or 84 percent of the labor force” unlike when it was first created and only covered “20 percent of the labor force” (“UC Davis Center for Poverty Research”). The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 or FLSA not only created the minimum wage but also created other federal protections like “overtime pay for the time worked