Should Minimum Wage In The United States Increased?

One of the biggest political topics in today's society is the federal minimum wage and whether it should be raised or kept at where it is now at $7.25 an hour. Arguments could be made for both sides on whether it should be raised or left alone. The majority of minimum wage in today’s job market are unskilled positions. Minimum wage jobs were created for teenagers and colleges kids as a way to get into the workforce and to have a little extra money for themselves. It was not designed to be a wage for people to live on. Increasing the minimum wage would hurt the economy by hurting small businesses, a huge loss of jobs and it would increase the competition between teens and adults. Overall if the federal minimum wage is increased it will have many negative effects on the economy.

There are a lot of people around the world who struggle with money and a satisfactory way of life. Whether they be in the United States or across the globe, there is a standard minimum wage set for the working class of their country. In the Unites States, there is a federal minimum wage of seven dollars and twenty five cents per hour worked. Almost every state has another set minimum wage, which typically is a little higher than the federal minimum wage, but it cannot be lower than seven dollars and twenty five cents. Countries set minimum wage laws, to ensure there is a basic quality of life amongst its citizens. As the minimum wage goes up in certain states, the quality of life also improves. The problem with a higher minimum wage, is now people are getting paid higher for entry level jobs which are meant for teenagers and people new to the workforce. If the minimum wage keeps increasing across the country, teenagers and young adults will have a much more difficult time finding jobs.

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.

The reason of the fall in oil prices are the constant change of demand. The need for the oil is actually stagnant. Crude oil is becoming a product of the past. Today, you can harvest energy from solar, wind, water, heat, and waves. According to The Economist, “The use of fossil fuels in the rich world is mostly falling. Emerging economies are not currently taking up the slack”.

In 1938 congress instituted minimum wage with 25 cents an hour being the first wage. After 78 years seven dollars has been the increase of minimum wage, stated by the article listed on, Heritage.org . Every year the cost of living and surviving in this country increases. You would think after 78 years, minimum wage would not be at $7.25. Many college students work part-time jobs that pays minimum wage to have some extra cash in their pockets or pay a few minor bills. Having a part time job is perfectly fine in college, but imagine not being in college, working a minimum wage job. Lets be honest, the pay checks are no where near what you would like them to be or it isn 't enough to cover everything that you want or need. So, imagine not being in college, working a full time job, with rent, children, car note, insurance, and etc. Many adults work minimum wage jobs, barely making it to provide for themselves and their kids. Your probably thinking, "maybe those people should go back to school or look for a better job.” Yes, that is true but for most people, its too late. A better job requires a degree, most people have kids and cant afford to take a couple of hours off or get someone to watch their kids while they attend school, so a minimum wage job is the only option. So, to make a better life for the struggling parents and the needy college students, increasing the minimum wage is a must for various reasons which include decreasing poverty, increasing health, and relieving

We are arguably living in the aftereffects of a country that reached its heights of Capitalism during the Industrialization era. Prior to the introduction of machinery and railroad systems to America, the economical framework relied on a warped version of lasseiz-faire and featured wealthy descendants of British merchants who joined the colonies. Others worked menial jobs and apprenticeships to guarantee their source of income and it is safe to say that many were unhappy with their predicament --- even if they had no platform to voice this opinion. While the Industrialization Era introduced centuries of wealth to America, it also severely tipped the wealth distribution scale which can be seen extremely in events like the multiple depressions of the 19th Century and recessions in the 20th Century. In a 2013 statistic, researchers found that 53.5% of people despise their jobs. If you ask around, you 'll find that many overqualified Americans are still working menial jobs to provide for their families and that even office jobs are not that promising in terms of salary. The wealth cap for most of these citizens is around $60k~ and many, many Americans are living in poverty. There seems to be a socio-economical propaganda that is being spewed around for many years that many workers of minimum wage are lazy, entitled teenagers who have nothing better to do than sit around and collect

This paper will explore the pros and cons of raising the current minimum wage to $15.00. It will start with the history and reasons for the minimum wage. It will cite the positive aspects for raising it, as well as the negative consequences of that action. It will then touch on actual cases presently, within the U.S. economy. Finally, I will present my conclusion.

The topic on whether the minimum wage should be increased our untouched has been a hot topic in the media and political scene lately. Both the republicans and democrats have spent some big bucks lobbying their insights on the matter. There has been a lot of subjective and objective arguments that are reasonable on both the pros and cons of increasing our national minimum wage. To add to the drama associated with this topic, President Obama endorsed a bill proposing a nearly 40% rise from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour. The President has been campaigning around the country ever since his State of the Union address, pushing congress to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. Many say this is too high due to the costs of enacting such an increase, and many say this is a little low due to the increased cost of living. After looking into both sides of this debate, I realize that overall it would be better for the well-being of our nation to increase the minimum wage due to the short term and long term costs that an increase of the minimum wage could lead to. In terms of helping out the lower class and poor citizens of the United States, increasing the minimum wage level is not the answer.

In recent news, President Barack Obama has pledged to support an increase to the minimum wage of at least 9 dollars per hour. He also supports indexing the minimum wage according to inflation (Doyle, 2013). This would create an increase in the minimum wage whenever the cost of living rises. During his 2013 State of the Union Address, President Obama “argued that hiking the minimum wage would improve the lives of millions of workers and their families” (Jamieson, 2013, para. 9). The Obama Administration backs legislation brought to Congress by Senator Tom Harkin and Representative George Miller. Because the two men feel that a hike to $9 would not be enough, they support increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 (Jamieson, 2013). Unfortunately, in March 2013, the House struck down hopes for passing this minimum wage bill for a value of $10.10. Many reasons were given for the event, but, namely, there was division within the Democratic Party (Dinan, 2013). Now, the federal minimum wage remains at $7.25 per hour and this last increase was made back in 2009 (Doyle, 2013). The debate over minimum wage can be found at all levels of society from the

Minimum wage is one of the difficulties in the United States and around the world. Most of the countries have some type of minimum wage. Let’s take a look at the history of minimum wage. Minimum wage in the United State isn’t as old as you think might be. The first federal minimum wage was first introduced by Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s. At first minimum wage was set at 25 cents an hour, which works out to about $4 per hour in today’s money. Minimum wage was introduced during the Great Depression, there was no national minimum wage or anything to protect workers from exploitation. “Because of the lack of regulation tens of thousands of workers were routinely exploited in sweatshops and factories, forced to work in horrible conditions and for pennies a week” (Minimum-wagehistory).

During the past five years or so, the minimum wage in the United States (U.S.) have been a topic of interest for many parties. On one side, the parties that oppose an increase in the minimum wage believe that an increase will spark an epidemic of high unemployment rates. On the other side, the parties are asking for an increase in the minimum wage for many other reasons, including help lower the poverty levels, afford health insurance and higher education among other needs. Throughout the U.S., the inequality of wages and compensation have been a problem for some time. Despite the large, diverse workforce in the country, the policies that govern the minimum wage should be revamped so that all workers are equally compensated.

Many people believe that raising the minimum wage would make all employees lives easier and that employers and the economic elite are the reason that the minimum wage does not rise. Not only does this line of thinking run contrary to the most basic economic principles of a free society, but it is also illogical. If government could raise the real wages of millions of Americans by merely passing a law announcing that fact, then why stop raising the minimum wage at all. A 500-dollar minimum wage would be better than a 10-dollar minimum wage. But the “logic” is perfectly consistent with the

This weeks article is about how New York City workers at fast food restaurants are protesting for an increase in minimum wage in the amount of $15 an hour. This movement began about four years ago and now the Gov. Cuomo recommended for the wage to increase. Cuomo appeared to have a positive attitude in his speech about this wage change. The increase in the wage will first take place in the city and then spread throughout the state. This means that the increase in the wage would represent a raise of more than 70 percent of the workers that are currently earning $8.75 minimum wage. The article stated that, the change for the low wage for the restaurant workers would help increase wages in other industries. This specific statement seems to me as an agenda control.

This is because raising the minimum wage to a livable state has never been something negative. Businesses are irrefutably a system of ruthless give-and-take, and thus require a structure of rules to govern moral and interpersonal necessities. These rules must include an increased minimum wage. Low-wage workers struggle in many ways, a majority of which relate directly to the amount of money that they make and the number of hours they work. Thus, an increase in the minimum wage is essential, as it is financially impossible to live off of the sum, and it has not been properly adjusted for inflation. Raising the minimum wage would also decrease the rate of high school and college dropouts, would positively affect the overall health of the populace, and favourably impact economic growth. Workers are paid to work, but it is crucial that they are paid for the work that they do, which is much more than the current $7.25 minimum

The minimum wage has arguably become the most controversial topic regarding our economy today, as it influences one of the largest classes of people within the United States, the working class. Federally, the minimum wage has not been raised in eight years, so it has stayed at $7.25 per hour for all non-exempt workers (U.S. DoL). The opinions on this topic are typically split across a progressive-conservative line, with progressives being in favor of a raise from $7.25, and conservatives wanting to stay at the current rate. This can be seen when looking at the typical progressive stances from states and municipalities that raise the minimum wage for businesses operating within their jurisdiction, since the higher rate among all levels of