The Complex Subject of Minimum Wage in Our Economy

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.

In 1936 by President Roosevelt who signed the Fair Labor Standard Act(FLSA) making a federal minimum wage of .25 cents an hour (equivalent to $4.18 today)(Grossman) in order to maintain a “minimum standard of living necessary for health, efficiency and general well-being, without substantially curtailing employment”. This wage only affected about 20% of the entire labor force. The Fair labor Standards act was not always looked at being the best way to go, when it was enacted just like in today 's society it was fought against to raise the minimum wage. Many corporations were arguing against the creation of the

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.

Ira Knight, who is an author of article “Let’s Make the Minimum Wage a Living Wage”, expresses an opinion that increasing the minimum wage would help all struggling workers and at the same time improve U.S economy. On the other side, Janice Steele in her article “Keep the Minimum Wage Where It Is” argues that raising the minimum wage would have bad effects on workers, consumers and small businesses. Ira Knight’s article seems to be the stronger of the two positions because her arguments are based on several recent studies, and last but not least, she had a personal experience with the minimum wage job.

The Fair Labor Standards Act was first introduced and passed on June 25, 1938 and became effective on October 24, 1938 within that bill minimum wage was first introduced (Grossman). The bill itself was an issue because the supreme court kept turning down the bill but after countless attempts, the bill was passed a year later. President Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced that bill in hopes for fair pay as he states “all our able-bodied working men and women a fair day's pay for a fair day's work” (Roosevelt). President Roosevelt basically wanted to end the injustice and inequality many workers faced when receiving payment. Minimum wage has been and is currently an issue because of the augmentation on the cost of living and low income many workers

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.

Unfortunately, if the minimum wage were to be increased, many employees would start looking for higher skilled workers. As Sally Smith, CEO of Buffalo Wild Wings, explains; “When you start paying $15 an hour, are you going to take a chance on a 17-year-old who’s never had a job before when you can find someone with more experience?” (Perry, screen 1). The minimum wage is set for on-the-job training, and many employers feel that a worker must prove their worth through not only training but working their way up to higher salaries. If a worker has no skills to offer due to little-to-no past experience, employers will be less willing to hire them for more money. Businesses cannot spend more on wages than they earn in revenue, so they will have to make decisions on the types of workers they will want (Freiling, screen 1). The amount of money workers get can be imagined as a ladder; minimum wage being the first step. As a

In 1938, the first national minimum wage laws in the United States were passed as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which served as “a floor below wages,” to reduce poverty and to ensure that economic growth is shared across the workforce. Today, many people who work for companies that pay at or near the minimum wage and remain near or below the poverty level rely on government health and food security and income programs to supplement their living expenses. Since 1938, there have been many additional policies to the Fair Labor Standards Act that have changed many things, such as increasing the national minimum wage numerous times to the currently salary level, which was set in 1997. The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 was a policy to change the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 in three additions, which began in July of 2009. (http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/minwagebwp.pdf)

Raising the minimum wage has become a controversial debate in the American political economy. Many disagree on the effects of raising the minimum wage, from economists to politicians. According to a November 2013 Gallup poll, 76 percent of the public supported an increase in the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour (Mejeur, 2014, p. 17). Those in favor argue that the current minimum wage is not enough to live off, and that raising the minimum wage will reduce income inequality, reduce the expense for social programs, stimulate the economy, and have no negative effect on

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

Roosevelt would establish this act, as A History of World Societies mentions about a time known as The Great Depression from 1929 to 1939 (McKay 929), and it also mentions that in 1933 in the United States, “14 million people were out of work” (McKay 931). McKay also mentions that it was a time when people left the United States and mentions the likelihood of numerous Americans migrating “to the Soviet Union, attracted by communism’s promises of jobs and a new life” (McKay 931). When looking at the history of minimum wage rates, there are a certain number of factors that affected the rise and fall of the rates explained by Michael Reich in “The Ups and Downs of Minimum Wage Policy: The Fair Labor Standards Act in Historical Perspective”, as well as what minimum wage assisted in. In the article, Reich explains that when the United States was going through the Great Depression in 1938 to the beginning of World War II, the FLSA “helped stabilize the shaky condition of the U.S. economy” (539). This served as a benefit to the people of the United States and because minimum wage was rising after the war, it is mentioned they “were likely an important pillar supporting the nation’s broadly shared prosperity” (Reich 539).

In 1938, the first national minimum wage laws in the United States were passed as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which served as “a floor below wages,” to reduce poverty and to ensure that economic growth is shared across the workforce. Today, many people who work for companies that pay at or near the minimum wage and remain near or below the poverty level rely on government health and food security and income programs to supplement their living expenses. Since 1938, there have been many additional policies to the Fair Labor Standards Act that have changed many things, such as increasing the national minimum wage numerous times to the currently salary level, which was set in 1997. The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, from the United States Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, was a policy to change the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 in three additions, which began in July of 2009. (U.S., 2009).

Minimum wage introduced by the congress as the subdivision of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in 1938. At that time, congress set the minimum wage at 25 cents an hour. According to Tricia Hussung, Business Analyst, in 1968, adjusted for inflation, the federal minimum wage

One of the most frequently asked questions in our country seem to be should the minimum wage be raised or should it be lowered or eliminated altogether. From where I stand minimum wage should be raised. Everyone is more successful when people are paid a living wage. Changes to the minimum wage would strengthen the economy and business, Lift Americans out of poverty, and will be unlikely to significantly impact prices. The only way to grow the economy in a way that benefits 90% is to change the structure of the economy. Paying people a fair wage is a sign of respect and acknowledgment of the value of people's contributions to the business. The minimum wage should be raised because it would reduce poverty, it is unlikely to significantly

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 established the first minimum wage in the United States The wage rate was set at twenty-five cents, which is $4.19 in today’s money (Cole). Franklin Roosevelt enacted this law, believing that it would put more money into workers’ paychecks, lessening the impact of the Great Depression and increasing the standard of living; minimum wage would put more money into the hands of workers, who would then spend it, putting it back into circulation and stimulating the economy (Rogers 1571). However, while employers could not pay below a certain level, they began to discriminate in who they hired to even out the additional costs of minimum wage.