Rhetorical Strategies: Minimum Wage

Minimum wage has caused controversy throughout history between the two parties in government, the Democrats and Republicans, debating if they should increase minimum wage or not. Minimum wage was first established during 1938 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt (Sessions). The first act to enforce employers to pay its employees is the Fair Labor Standards Act which followed the Social Security Act (Sessions). Minimum wage started as twenty-five (25) cents per hour which doesn’t seem like a lot, but it was at that time (Sessions). The United States tended to raise the minimum wage when the standard of living changed. Since 1938, two other amendments were created to increase minimum wage laws even more. By 1961, minimum wage raised to $1.15 with another increase in 1963 (wages). Since the 1963 wage change, minimum wage created a trend of increasing yearly or every other year (Wages). From 2007 to 2009 minimum wage increased each year making the current minimum wage $7.25 (wages). Sine minimum wage has been established, Congress has increased minimum wage twenty-two times (22) (). Since minimum wage is supposed to change when the standard of living changes, then why hasn’t the United States government changed it since 2009?

The minimum wage debate has been a hot topic over the past year, especially with the Presidential Election. This is a divisive topic that people rarely agree upon. There are essentially two sides you can take when it comes to this argument. Either people are for minimum wage or are against raising, or even having, a minimum wage. Proponents of the minimum wage are typically politicians who are lobbying for the vote of the people who feel that a minimum wage is critical to their wellbeing, and those who sympathize with people who earn “minimum wage”. Minimum wage is destroying America’s free market economy and someone needs to take action and find a better solution to this problem. Without anyone acting on this problem now, it can potentially be worse in the long run. Raising the minimum wage in the United States will do more harm than good to society because of the long-term effects.

One of the most talked about subjects in the U.S economy is the topic of minimum wage. With president Obama’s increase in the minimum wage to 10.10$ per hour people, both economists and politicians alike, have been debating whether raising the bar is a smart idea. At a time when the country the country’s inflation continues to rise at a steady pace and Americans are constantly working to feed their families, some economists know that a raise in the minimum wage would help elevate some of the difficulty. The last time the federal minimum wage was raised was in July of 2009, where rose from 6.55$ to 7.25$. However, there are plenty of reasons as to why the wage should be raised. Some may not think it, but raising the

The topic of raising minimum wage seems to attract a multitude of controversy. On one side, experts agree that raising a family on one minimum wage salary is almost impossible for someone who puts in fairly large work hours. Nonetheless, business owners agree that increasing these salaries will result in significantly less jobs, as well as force them to increase the prices on their consumer products. Federally, minimum wage workers earn $7.25 an hour, totaling up to $15,080 annually, with approximately six hours of working time per day. However, the price varies with state, with places like Massachusetts and Washington paying $11 to workers hourly.

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

Rex Huppke, a journalist for the Chicago Tribune, deftly discusses the pros and cons of raising the minimum wage in the last of a two-week series in “In the Minimum Wage Debate, Both Sides Make Valid Points”. Although I am for raising the minimum wage, Huppke’s presentation of the opposite argument does make one think beyond the gut reading that everyone deserves more money. Huppke’s argument that a large number of minimum wage earners are student of the elderly leads me to believe that a tier of wages would take care of the issue. For example, anyone working less than 35 hours a week would be paid at a certain rate; with full time getting an increase. I am not concerned by the argument that a higher minimum wage leads to lay-offs or price increases when most products sold in America are manufactured by cheap foreign labor. There is already a huge profit margin that could sustain such an increase. Rather than give discounts on goods and services, thus preventing employees from exercising the right to shop, stay or eat wherever the employee chooses, these employers trap workers into giving back the very money they have “slaved” for.

In history wages have generally been increased to match inflation, meaning the minimum wage has generally been increases to make up for the loss of spending power of the dollar

Inflation has also been one of the signature conflicts of raising the minimum wage. In the past 5 to six years, the inflations levels have been at 1.5 percent (CNN money). By raising the minimum wage, should not increase inflation but help it maintain its current state. When adjusted for inflation, the current federal minimum wage would need to be more than $8 per hour to equal its purchasing power of the early 1980s and more nearly $11 per hour to equal its buying power of the late 1960s (U.S dept. Labor). That 's why President Obama is urging Congress to increase the federal minimum wage and give low-wage workers a much-needed boost.

Pathos is used to obtain the feelings of sympathy or pity, and Martin Luther King Jr. uses it to his advantage by pointing out many examples of the harsh treatment towards the black

Where do I start, let’s go with one of the positions that makes me wonder. In your post you said that, “I firmly believe that pay should solely be based off of one’s performance and education and work experience.” but previously you also mentioned that “I am not a believer or a supporter of the minimum wage increase, nor a fan of minimum wage to begin with”. Well that a stance leaves baffled, reason I say that is because without guidelines or standards, I feel may individuals would be taken advantage of regardless if they do have the education and work experience required. The issues that would arise from removing minimum wage entirely will lead to a society that becomes backdated in its thoughts and evolution as a whole. You must

The minimum wage in the United States has been an ongoing controversy for many years now. The first minimum wage was established in 1938 (Reich, 2015, P. 3). That minimum wage started out at .25 cents an hour; compared to today’s higher wage of a government standard of $7.25 an hour. Many people believe that the minimum wage should be more so that those who live below the poverty level in the United States will decrease, however in many other people’s opinions the minimum wage should be the same. The minimum wage should stay the same at a low $7.25.

For example, McEwen stated,” A voluntary water-release program agreed to by farmers and environmentalist has been going on for nearly a decade on the King River.” McEwen includes logos by including Kings River. Kings River is a major part on California Rivers. McEwen is using facts on this quote by including the program and the King River. The reader will agree with the author's viewpoint because it was a statistic on this statement. Another example of logos, is when McEwen stated,” To hear the limousine liberals tell it, passage of the half-baked restoration bill was a great moment in California history” McEwen used logos in this quote about the limousine liberals. The limousine liberals care more than salmon than people. They want more salmon than less salmon. The reader will agree with the author's viewpoint because they will agree with the liberals. This rhetorical device is superior that the other article because this article gives lots of fact and the other article does

When the costs of labor increase, there is a deadweight loss of employment associated with this reduction in hiring (quantity demand), which reflected in the loss for employers (consumer) and job seekers (producers). In 48 years, from 1968 to 2016, the U.S GDP has rapidly, and steadily increased to 361.5 percent from 4.62 trillion dollars to 16.7 trillion dollars. Relating this statistic to the federal minimum wage, in 1968, the federal minimum wage is 1.60 dollars per hour, if the federal minimum wage should increase by GDP grown rate, it will be 5.79 per hour today. When adjusted by inflating rate, it should be 11.11 dollars per hour for the same purchasing power. Indexing the minimum wage to inflation is not the best policy to help the low-wage worker. For example, suppose the Congress in 1938, at the height of the Great Depression, when established the first federal minimum wage as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) authorized its indexing to inflation thereafter, just as President Obama asked for in his final State of the Union address, the minimum wage of .25 dollars per hour in 1938 is worth 4.29 dollar in 2016, compared to the current federal minimum wage of 7.25 dollars per hour (BLS CPI Inflation Calculator. So what is a fair minimum wage after all and would it fix poverty with a new increase in minimum wage?

“Paying your employees well is not only the right thing to do, but it makes for good business”-Jim Sinegal, CEO of Costco. Many of America’s employees are not being paid well, however, for the annual income of a full-time employee who works year-round is less than $16,000 (about $15, 080) according to the current federal minimum wage (Rebuilding). To put into retrospect how out-dated the federal minimum wage is, consider that the minimum wage of 1956 amounted to exactly $7.93 in 2009 (Henderson). How progressive is it that our nation’s workers being paid less today than workers from the 50’s? The federal minimum wage should be raised in order to assist families out of poverty, to ensure the effort and loyalty of workers, and

As inflation causes the economy to change, minimum wage has decreased in value as inflation has caused the economy to change. A minimum wage that might have been enough to support a person a couple of years ago would not be enough to support a person now. For instance, in 1980, minimum wage was about $16,647 dollars a year, but an apartment in Manhattan, New York was only about $10,400 per year in rent, leaving about $120 dollars a month for other expenses. Now, minimum wage is about $13,195 per year, with an apartment in Manhattan being around $7,200 per year in rent, not counting utilities, leaving about $5,995 for other expenses. Keep in mind that food, gasoline, utilities, and other essentials were much cheaper in the 1980’s than they are now. An average household spends about $294 per month (Loweryourspending.com), or about $3,528 a year, on groceries, leaving about $2,467 for the rest of a person's expenses.