The Debate Of Raising Minimum Wage

Everyone believes they know where they stand on the issue of minimum wage. But think about this. A small store owner who has only been in business for six years. He is finally making a small profit. Any change to his expenses will bring him once again into the red. The owner does not have any other source of income. If the business fails to bring in a profit he will be hard pressed to pay his bills. Working in his store is a young woman of twenty. She is a single parent who receives no child support and does not qualify for government assistance. She is making minimum wage only and works 40 hours a week. As she brings home just enough for food and housing and needs to rely on family and friends for daycare. A raise in wages would help tremendously. As both proponents and opponents of the minimum wage debate have valid reasons for their stance, a person needs to look further into the facts to determine what is best for the nation.

Paying for a college education creates a dilemma when a student only earns minimum wage flipping burgers at a local fast food restaurant. The current federal minimum wage stands at $7.25 per hour before taxes. The debate on whether it should increase or remain constant has been occurring for many years. Raising the minimum wage to match the current cost of living seems like a good idea, but this could cause some negative effects. John Komlos’ article “Why raising the minimum wage is good economics” delivers a more effective argument than Rex Huppke’s article “The argument against raising minimum wage” through the use of ethos, logos, and a valid conclusion.

Life is a struggle and finding a job and paying your bills is not always easy in this world today. A major debate that has been an issue is whether there should be a law to raise the minimum wage. The minimum wage is the lowest hourly salary an employer can pay an employee for their work. According to Williams (2013), “The minimum wage was signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1938”. The first minimum wage was 25 cents per hour. Since then, the minimum wage has been increasing as the last increase of Florida's minimum wage was an increase of 14 cents on Jan. 1, 2014. This federal increase makes it 68 cents higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25. Gibson (2014) states “Obama, who last year called for an increase in the

The minimum wage debate brings about a range of reactions from different people. There are those who believe that there shouldn’t even be a minimum wage and that wages should be determined by the markets. On the other hand, we have those who vigorously argue for increasing the wage minimum citing inflation, the poverty line and worker productivity. Regardless, we do have a federal minimum wage rate in the United States at $7.25 per hour, with some states having a higher minimum wage than the federal minimum. President Obama, in his first state of the union address of his second term proposed “Tonight, let’s declare that, in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty, and raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour” (The White House 2013). A year later, he has revised that number to $10.10 per hour after signing an executive order that has already raised the minimum wage for federal workers to that number. (The White House 2014). With more and more states raising their own minimum wage, a minimum wage increase seems almost imminent with Democrats and Republicans getting closer to a deal. (Bolton 2014). But we are more interested in the efficiency of a minimum wage implemented at the federal level. The main question that surrounds this debate is whether this price floor in labor markets is efficient given that the stated goal of the minimum wage is to make sure full-time workers earn a living wage and are above the poverty line.

In 2017 there were many issues leading the fact people had very low minimum wages so no matter how hard you are working you are barely getting paid. In the article “Should we raise minimum Wage”, Bernie Sanders talks about the problems with low minimum wage right now. He states “. That’s a major reason why more than 43 million Americans are living in poverty. Health-care costs, child care costs, college costs, and housing costs are all going up. Wages are not.” (Bernie Sanders.) The amount that people are getting paid now for minimum wage is not enough to live off of and people can barely live off of it. The low wage has to go up in comparison with other things because if one goes up and the other does not they will not be able to pay for

A huge controversy has been raised by the rise and fall of the set rates for minimum wage within many states in the US. Many people believe that the rate should be raised and some believe that the rate should remain or even decrease. If the minimum wage rate was heightened, then there would be more high school dropouts, prices would heighten, and fewer people would have jobs.

The debate on raising the minimum wage has been discussed in detail in Congress for the past eighteen months. But as of late, writer William Finnegan suggests, it is “among the many urgent issues that it [Congress] certainly won’t address.” Though this issue is important, Congress seems to be putting off making any real decision in regards to raising the minimum wage.

Many people argue that we should raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, but I argue that raising the minimum wage will lower the work-readiness of employees. To start with, if we raise the minimum wage many people will lose their jobs. For example, Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, said, “When employers consider hiring people, they are making a decision to ‘buy’ labor. Will employers purchase more labor if it’s priced at $7.25 or at $15 per hour?” (Johnson 23). Simply put, “buying” labor means that employers are paying the employees to come work for them. Additionally, raising the minimum wage to $15 will lower the employee's work

Small business owners in the U.S are very controversial about raising the minimum wage. Even though, most of the small business owners said they do not employ minimum wage workers, half of respondents said the federal minimum wage should be raised while the other half disagrees (Janofsky, A., Josephs, L. (2015). Many cities in The U.S have voted to increase the minimum wage. According to research, many small business owners said they planned to raise wages this year (Janofsky, A., Josephs, L. (2015). Business owners who employed workers making minim wage said they would offer a $1 raise within one year. Overall, about 15% of small business owners said more than half of their workers earned the minimum wage.

In the United States, the minimum wage has been a controversial issue and one of the major debates among politics over the years. Leaders in both the House of Representatives and the Senate have discussed some possible advantages to raising the minimum wage along with the possible disadvantages of an increased minimum wage. Members on one side of the debate believe raising the minimum wage could hurt America’s lowest income workers and small businesses, while people on the other side believe the current minimum wage is not a living wage – therefore needs to be raised. In this report, information on both sides of the debate has been considered. As John Stuart Mill (One of the most influential thinkers in the history of liberalism, he contributed widely to social theory, political theory and political economy) once said, “The only way in which a human being can make some approach to knowing the whole of a subject, is by hearing what can be said about it by persons of every variety of opinion, and studying all modes in which it can be looked at by every character of mind. No wise man ever acquired his wisdom in any mode but this” (Mill 12). In this report, we will look at a short description and history of the United States’ minimum wage policies. In addition, we will discuss the status of the minimum wage and present the arguments for and against raising the minimum wage. Research involving minimum wage increases have proved that the minimum wage is an ineffective antipoverty tool. Studies also show that replacing the minimum wage with an expanded Earned Income Tax Credit would be much more effective (Sabia). While, members on both sides of the debate have strong arguments, the United States government should repeal, replace, and redefine minimum wage to reduce poverty among low-income workers and help America’s small businesses succeed.

Did you know minimum wage was $0.25 per hour in 1938? Since then it has raised to a whopping $7.25. Most readers will agree that there is a problem with this current minimum wage, considering the cost of living and salaries, Etc. However, they might not understand the complexity of the issue. In fact, the topic is not simply a question of if the minimum wage should be increased or kept the same, but more of a complex issue involving the different viewpoints on why people agree or disagree. Some reasons why people might agree is: decreasing poverty, increase in government aiding, and cannot afford basic needs. In opposition, opponents of the minimum wage might say it increases poverty, increases unemployment (specifically among unskilled or

Although it is not a new topic in America, the decision to raise the minimum wage continues to be controversial, especially in the political realm. The political parties still move to block the opposing party from successfully implanting their ideals, causing either nothing to be accomplished or the situation to worsen. Research shows that raising the minimum wage a reasonable amount would lessen the gap between the rich and the poor, continue to fulfill its original purpose of protecting workers and keeping the economy in a healthy state, and contain more advantages with a minute influence on employment rates.

Should minimum wage be raised? The discussion surrounding the federal minimum wage have intensified in participation over the past years, garnering even more interest preceding our most recent presidential election. The opposing arguments are that the government should raise the wage minimum and the government should not raise the federal minimum. It should be pointed out that the proponents for a higher minimum wage have specifically been appealing for a new $15-dollar minimum. I initially chose this topic because of the challenge it carried along with it. Discussing money and the livelihood of people can spark much passion and sometimes upset if you are on the opposing side, and I felt that I wanted to tackle this argument from the least

The federal minimum wage has been a major political issue in American since it first came into effect in 1938 during president Franklin D. Roosevelt presidency. Over the years, many have wanted to raise the wage or leave it alone. The debate has been a problem in America over eighty years and will continue to be an issue as the economy changes. The federal minimum wage should not be raised because it will hurt small businesses, teenages/ young adults will be out of the work force, and will increase poverty and reliance on government programs.

The debate about what minimum wage truly should be has been argued over since the creation of minimum wage. Many have argued that raising minimum wage would do more harm than good for the economy. While others say raising minimum wage will provide enough money for these workers to live off of and not slip into poverty. Raising minimum wage is what should be done in order to keep the workers in the workforce afloat.