The Benefits Of The Minimum Wage

Raising the minimum wage is a very important public policy issue. Raising the minimum wage is a responsible policy that is supported by research and demanded by the American public. Each day, minimum wage workers across the country struggle to make ends meet and provide a decent life for their kids (Scott & Perez, 2016). Raising the minimum wage is a controversial issue, many believe that raising the minimum wage would only provide low wage workers more money to spend. However, the benefits can be endless for low wage workers. If minimum wage is increased across the United States it would afford the people effected more opportunities for financial freedom. Increasing the minimum wage would raise the standard of living for low wage workers, allow families to be removed from poverty, allow for government welfare spending to be reduced and lastly additional income being spent would positively affect the economy.

Picture this: You are a single parent of two, you work 40 hours a week plus occasional overtime at a minimum wage paying job, you struggle to put food on the table to feed your family, and then you receive a call from the bank saying that your home is being foreclosed. This is the situation faced by thousands of Americans every year due to low income and wealth inequality. The federal minimum wage (FMW) as of April 2014 is $7.25, which is not enough to keep a family of two above the poverty line. There are certain questions on this topic that should be addressed, such as why is poverty and wealth distribution an issue in the United States today? Should the FMW be raised and why? How would raising the FMW affect American families? What are

There are 156. 4 million people in the US workforce, however 5.2% of those are unemployed. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour; however, each state has its own laws regarding minimum wage and the amount can be higher or lower than the federal minimum, but the employee receives the higher of the two (2015). A higher minimum wage means that employers are less apt to hire someone. Some experts explain this by saying that if an employer values the job at a lower wage per hour than the minimum wage set by the government, then the employer is less likely to hire someone to fill that role. The employer only wants to hire someone when that person will be able to generate some sort of value for the company and positively affect the bottom line. Another problem with a high minimum wage is that potential employees are less likely to want to work if they are able to receive unemployment benefits from the government that will almost equal that which they would receive from working a minimum wage job (Gillikin).

The current U.S. Federal Minimum Wage is $7.25 per hour. In just two years from 2013, the demanded from advocates for raising minimum wage rose from $9 to $15. However, raising the minimum wage is more complex than simply raising the number of federal standard of pay for employees. Relative control groups and other market activities play a part in the outcome of the minimum wage. For example, one instance of market activity was observers said that raising the minimum wage did not hurt individuals; however, wages were raised during an economic downturn so the impact of minimum wage was masked by other activities. Federal Minimum Wage is pressing topic and it is important to consider the pros and cons to raising it, to ask what people and how people are affected, and to look further into the microeconomic theoretical framework of wages surrounding the topic.

A minimum-wage increase would put billions of dollars into the U.S. economy, benefiting businesses. It may not result in a surplus, but it will benefit the economy. Workers who are affected in any way by the minimum-wage being raised even to just twelve dollars an hour would see nearly eighty billion dollars in increased earnings over the next five years. Because low-wage workers tend to spend increased earnings locally on basic necessities, this will benefit businesses that rely on consumer spending. It still won’t come close to the equilibrium price, but it will help. The minimum wage last year was twenty-four percent below the level it was just about fifty years ago despite the fact that American productivity has more than doubled over that period and low-wage workers now have much more experience and education than they did back then. Now it’s the time to address this weakness in the minimum wage by raising it and lifting the earnings of low-wage

In our modern society one of the seemingly least controversial topics is the minimum wage. The popular opinion wants to raise the minimum wage, but is the popular opinion always right? Throughout recent years, politicians have made promises to raise the minimum wage to help low-income earners live a better life. Contrary to popular belief, raising the minimum wage actually hurts low-income earners and low-skilled workers. We must first define a low-skilled worker. A low-skilled worker does not mean that particular employee is not intelligent; it simply refers to a worker who cannot perform as efficiently due to low educational attainment. Through this paper, I hope to inform you, Mr. Randall L. Stevenson, and our company, AT&T, about the disadvantages of raising the minimum wage.

The idea of minimum wage is that workers are guaranteed enough money to live off of. The price of minimum wage is determined by the state, but a federal minimum wage is set. Some states choose to go above the minimum wage, while others, such as Alabama and Louisiana, choose to not have minimum wage at all (Root). Minimum wage is important to society, because it can affect many people’s lives. There are many pros and cons to having minimum wage in the United States. Furthermore, various stakeholders are also impacted by this policy in numerous of ways. Minimum wage is a microeconomics and macroeconomic problem that has many consequences. Therefore, minimum wage has been a great economic issue because of people’s support and opposition to the policy.

Numerous numbers of individuals and families will be relieved following a minimum wage increase. Around 25 million people will see the benefits firsthand (“Why Raise the Minimum Wage?”). Five million workers, after getting a raise, will no longer be in poverty, along with fourteen million working women, six million working mothers, and three million single working parents (“Why Raise Minimum Wage?”). With the well-deserved raise, all of these people can better support their family, pay off those growing bills, get food on the table, and worry less about the future. Looking at the numbers, it is evident that many people who have minimum wage jobs are living with tough situations at home whether that be poverty, living in a single income family, or both. As a result, many children are left with hungry bellies, not knowing when they will get their next hot meal because their hard working parents do not have enough capital to sustain the family. Not only will raising the minimum wage benefit millions of people that desperately need money, studies show that the effects would be evenly distributed among states still following the federal minimum wage. This is because the minimum wage sees no color and sees no gender. The federal minimum wage does not change depending on where you live; it doesn’t matter if you live in a red or blue state, or a rural area compared

The minimum wage is defined as the lowest compensation, by law, which an employer may pay his or her employees. In the United States, this monetary value is set by a collection of laws on the federal, state, and local levels. While state and local governments may choose to observe a higher minimum wage than the national minimum wage, the federal government ultimately controls the income of the nation’s lowest-earning employees. At the federal level, the minimum wage was last raised in 2009, from $6.55 to $7.25 per hour. Yet, since 2009, the minimum wage has stayed the same, while the cost of living continues to climb. For this reason, an initiative to raise the minimum wage has numerous supporters, whose key arguments are the reduction of poverty and the increase in efficiency. At the same time, however, opponents of raising the minimum wage claim that it would result in unemployment and would be harmful to businesses. Although their arguments are valid, proponents of raising the minimum wage fail to see the effects of an increase in labor costs on employers. With any cost, one party benefits while another party pays. Furthermore, a raise in minimum wage, and an increase in the cost of labor, will result in losses not only for the employer, but also for the employee. Therefore, for those members of society who fall below the poverty line, raising the current minimum wage will do more harm than good.

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

With President Franklin Roosevelt’s cries for “A fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work,” the Fair Labor Standards Act established minimum wage in 1938 (Grossman). Overtime, the minimum wage has been raised in order to account for inflation (BLS 14). However, what the overall economic impact of raising the wage will be is once again a daunting and extensive question. The controversy over raising the minimum wage seems to come from often conflicting economic opinions. While raising the minimum wage is done with good intentions, critics argue that a higher minimum wage will harm those it is actually trying to help. Raising the minimum wage, while a controversial issue, will have an overall economic impact that reaches not only minimum wage

Opponents believe that increased labor costs force businesses to cut jobs to make up for the decrease in profit. Other topics Mejeur includes in the article are different approaches of states raising the minimum wage and arguments for and against supporting the minimum wage. Some states have already taken the initiative and raised their minimum wage above the federal standard, North Carolina however has kept pace with the federal standard. I will use the information presented in this article to analyze both sides of the minimum wage issue. In a poll conducted in November of 2013, “76% of the public supported raising the federal minimum wage to $9.00 an hour. In the same poll, 69% of those asked supported a future increase to match the cost of living, to keep pace with inflation.” This is a point I will use in my research to explain why raising the minimum wage is a good

Millions of Americans live in poverty, unable to find high paying jobs to support themselves and their families. Common belief persists that paying a higher minimum wage would aid in lifting people out of poverty by giving those with low paying jobs a higher income, however the evidence suggests otherwise. As the 2016 race for the White House heats up, the minimum wage battle stands at the forefront of every economic discussion. The rhetoric between candidates within and across party lines intensifies by the day. While the debate over whether or not to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25/hour to $15/hour rages on, one side continues to stand out from the other.

Setting a reasonable minimum wage point is key to attracting workers who are available to perform well in a workplace, it could potentially increase productivity as workers become satisfied with the increase in pay. “Supporters of the minimum wage often voice an inherent distrust of business owners’ interest in keeping wages in line with cost-of-living increases and argue that the minimum is vital for protecting workers against exploitation” (Aliprandini and

Minimum wage is one of the biggest problems here in California, there have been many debates on whether the minimum wage should increase to $15 an hour or stay where it currently is. As of right now the minimum wage in California is $10.50 but will soon increase to $15 by 2022. In 2012 the minimum wage would have hit $21.72 if it had kept pace with the economy’s growth. Increasing the minimum wage will be great because it will help with many things. It will be beneficial for corporations and small businesses to expand their purchasing power. It will help families be more financially stable and lift more than 1 million people out of poverty. You might think it won't and it will make goods, gas prices, and increase house values, and the unemployment rate, but that’s the reason why the minimum wage was introduced Everyone in the working class will benefit from the increase of minimum wage.