Should The Miniumum Wage Be Increased? No?

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.

Minimum wage has always been a controversial issue. Many politicians use the argument of minimum wage for their own political propaganda. Some may argue minimum wage should be raised, while others believe it will have detrimental effects on our economy if it is raised. Surprising to most people, minimum wage earners make up only a small percent of American workers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, minimum wage workers make up about 2.8% of all workers in America. “The majority of minimum wage workers are between the ages of 16 and 24. These are high school and college students” (Sherk 2). But high school and college students are not the entire percentage of minimum wage earners. When minimum

Raising minimum wages is a contestable issue because it is debated in wide and varied audiences. Minimum wage is near the top of economists’ interest; they are looking for the connection between low wages and poor job markets. Each country sets its own laws and regulations regarding wages. For this reason, it has significant importance to policy makers and workers in each of those respective countries. Social activists have also found interest in the topic due to the fact that those who earn a minimum wage tend to come from poor minority families. Furthermore, the average American should have the strongest interest in the conversation because most citizens have been paid a minimum wage at some point in their life. Due to this fact, the idea of a significant federal minimum wage increase in America is open for debate specifically to rejuvenate the job industry, improve living conditions for citizens, and strengthen the economy as a whole.

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 income inequality gap is a huge problem when 1% makes more than the 99%. The Debate that is happening right now is whether the United States of America should raise the federal minimum wage or not. They are plenty of pro and cons for raising the federal minimum wage. The federal minimum wage is 7.50 an hour, but many states and cities have a different minimum wage depending on the states, city, and cost to living in that city/state. The Los Angeles city council has passed a city ordinance to raise the city's minimum wage, which would increase the minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour by 2020. Other citizens across the country have been rallying for their cities to raise the minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour, while some a little

Mike Durant once said, “Making it more expensive to create new jobs is a perfect way to guarantee fewer of them.” The recent, “Raise the Wage” campaigns have sparked an interest in many low-wage workers. However, those who support this initiative are unaware of the economic problems that will arise if this is successful. Several cities have already raised their minimum wages and some, like Seattle, are raising it as high as $15 per hour. Currently, supporters of this campaign argue that the government should implement this increase federally. However, doing so will have broad and adverse financial implications. Ever since the Great Depression, the minimum wage has been in effect — to reduce poverty and solidify that

Millions of Americans live in poverty unable to find high paying jobs to support themselves and their families. A common belief is that paying a higher minimum wage would help lift people out of poverty by giving those with low paying jobs a higher income, however the evidence suggests otherwise. The 2016 race to the White House heating up, the minimum wage battle is at the forefront of every economic discussion. The rhetoric between candidates within and across party lines is intensifying. Many differing opinions are being heard. As the debate over whether or not to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25/hour to $15/hour rages on, one side stands apart time and time again.

According to procon.org “if we were to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 there would be economic loss of up to 500,000 jobs.” When people think about the idea of making $10.10 an hour they think about money not all the other people that will probably get laid off if the minimum wage goes up. In a recent survey they asked 1,213 businesses what they would do if the legal minimum wage were to go up to $10.10. This survey showed “38% of employers who currently pay minimum wage said they would lay off some employees if the minimum wage was raised to $10.10. 54% said they would decrease hiring levels.”(procon.org) This is a highly substantial loss of jobs in the U.S.

Should minimum wage in the United States increase? This is a challenging issue in politics today. According to Alan B. Krueger, the minimum wage, at the federal level is $7.25 and has been since 2009 (par. 1). State governments take it in their own hands and raise the minimum wage their selves (Krueger, par. 4). Congress is debating if it is necessary for the entire country to raise the minimum to $10.10 and eventually somewhere between $12.00 and $15.00 (Krueger, par. 2). But, there is an inconsistency in this topic; this is whether the minimum wage should stay the same or if it should be raised by the federal government. This inconsistency has to do with a small group in the United States that has authority over policy making, which is different

According to Jerome Fin minimum wage even at the federal level costs jobs ( Rotson 1). If a recession comes, higher wages will mean more layoffs (Alper 1) Although, this may not happen are you willing to risk it all? If a continuous amount jobs are lost not only will the lower class be affected ,but so will the middle class and upper class. “I feel every minimum wage, even at the federal level costs jobs”(Roston 1). Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says “ The minimum wage is largely an entry - level wage and raising it to ten dollars and ten cents an hour would lead to destroying jobs for young people”(Raasch 16). After, Seattle raised their minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour major problems started occurring. Adam Ozimek says “First wave of minimum wage increases appears to have lead to the loss of over one thousand one hundred food service jobs in Seattle's” (Puzder

Should America’s minimum wage be raised from $7.25 all the way to $15 an hour? Many are for raising it because they say it will decrease the amount of families living uncomfortably in poverty struggling to pay rent, feed their children, and make ends meet. But those who are against it, say it will increase the amount of businesses going bankrupt and will drive unemployment sky high. Critics of minimum wage say that minimum wage should be changed to living wage which will take the economy into account and would provide families with enough to live a comfortable lifestyle. Raising minimum wage in the United States to $15 an hour would be a bad idea for three reasons, earnings per share in even large stores would plummet, it would drive unemployment to an all-time high, and it will not take the economy into account.

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.

Many fast food workers and minimum wage employees have been protesting recently, in hopes of increasing the federal minimum wage. States such as Seattle, that have already increased the minimum wage to $15 per hour, and California, that has approved a bill that will change the minimum wage to $13 per hour in 2017, have already jumped on board with the movement. President Obama and many other protesters around the country who are fighting for the increase in the minimum wage believe that the raise will decrease poverty among Americans and provide a stable income to support a family, or serve as a livable wage (Lee). Instead of creating a positive impact on those in need, increasing the minimum wage will affect the lives of lower-income, lower-skilled workers in a negative way. According to conventional economic analysis, employment levels for lower-income workers in jobs such as fast food, or any job that pays minimum wage, have steadily decreased with the rises in the wage (“Effects of Raising”). While it will negatively affect the lower-income workers, the other half of Americans who work for higher wages and are not in poverty, will have increased incomes (“Effects of Raising”). Raising the wage will not produce the desired outcome and will consequently make the situation worse. Also, these types of jobs are not meant to be supporting families or be a livable wage. These jobs are stepping stones for teens and young adult workers to gain

There exists a schism in contemporary dialogue on a large scale over the State of Michigan’s plans to increase the minimum wage from seven dollars and fifty cents to ten dollars. Although increasing the minimum wage may seem beneficial to some, possibly stimulating the economy or increasing the standard of living for those who live below the poverty line, when looking at the economic issue through a larger lens and placing it into its context, one finds that by increasing the minimum wage, not only is the State of Michigan not addressing the most critical sector of his citizens, thereby not creating the most viable or efficient of solutions, but that this solution is likely to not even be beneficial but rather detrimental to the American economy. Our economy, already fragile, could be sent back into a recession because of policies like these. This essay will attempt to summarize and analyze the problems with raising the minimum wage both on an individual level (for each business, each individual, etc…) and also on an institutional level (how it will damage our economy).

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