Andrew Carnegie once said “Do your duty and a little more and the future will take care of itself.” Carnegie: for better or worse, played an important part in the worker’s rights movement. Some of the very first movements for workers to unionize and protect their jobs came during Carnegie’s time and would mark the very beginning of long and difficult process to achieve worker’s rights that still continue to this day. The minimum wage debate is without a doubt part of these negotiations and has taken the spotlight in recent years. There are two sides to the minimum wage debate: the employees fighting for higher wages who would like to earn enough to keep food on the table for their family, and the employer who is doing what they can to keep …show more content…
These sweatshops employed women and children and paid them far less than a reasonable wage. The minimum wage was created to “help individuals or families achieve self-sufficiency, and, as a result, coverage of minimum wage laws was extended to men and to workers in most low-paid occupations,” (Neumark & Wascher, 2008). Throughout history minimum wage laws have been thought of as the right thing to do, but it is still uncertain if it is the correct way to achieve goals. Although the minimum wage debate had been going on for some time the very first federal wage law was passed in 1938 by Congress as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Moving forward, the next big event in the history of the minimum wage debate occurred in 1981 with the Minimum Wage Study Commission. This covered what was thought to be everything we as a country needed to know about minimum wage. Although some believed that there was still more to be known and in the mid-1990s, where it was found that “Minimum wages play an important role in youth labor markets…[and] the principal intent of the minimum wage [is] helping raise incomes of low-income families,” (Neumark & Wascher, 2008). For the most part, that is still where the debate lingers today, whether raising the minimum wage is the correct way of helping people live on reasonable salaries and what that means for young people working low-income jobs.
Many people that are against raising the minimum
The minimum wage is not suitable for society because it is too low and due to this, employees tend to overwork with more than one job, which leads them to not be available for their families enough, and they are unable to make progress with this wage
Rex Huppke, a journalist for the Chicago Tribune, deftly discusses the pros and cons of raising the minimum wage in the last of a two-week series in “In the Minimum Wage Debate, Both Sides Make Valid Points”. Although I am for raising the minimum wage, Huppke’s presentation of the opposite argument does make one think beyond the gut reading that everyone deserves more money. Huppke’s argument that a large number of minimum wage earners are student of the elderly leads me to believe that a tier of wages would take care of the issue. For example, anyone working less than 35 hours a week would be paid at a certain rate; with full time getting an increase. I am not concerned by the argument that a higher minimum wage leads to lay-offs or price increases when most products sold in America are manufactured by cheap foreign labor. There is already a huge profit margin that could sustain such an increase. Rather than give discounts on goods and services, thus preventing employees from exercising the right to shop, stay or eat wherever the employee chooses, these employers trap workers into giving back the very money they have “slaved” for.
Raising minimum wage has been an ongoing issue for many years. Similar to every debatable issue, pros and cons are inevitable. In the United States, minimum wage started when the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) was passed and minimum wage started at 25 cents per hour. The purpose of setting a minimum wage is to set a maximum workweek and to eliminate child labor. It is defined to be the least amount of money employers are obligated to pay their employees by law. As the years passed, the minimum wage began to increase to accommodate the growing economy. Although the wage has increased from a mere 25 cents per hour to $7.25 over the course of 75 years, living expenses are much higher causing many people to be poverty stricken (Debate.org). President Obama proposes raising the minimum wage, so that it would help minimize the income gap in America. However, most business organizations and the Republicans oppose to the idea, saying that it could potentially lead to more economic problems. While both sides have valid points, which one provides a more compelling argument? In the United States, the minimum wage should be raised in every state; therefore workers can have a more comfortable standard of living, lower the poverty line, and minimize the income gap.
The argument for minimum wage has remained remake consistent over the years. Some people are against minimum wage and the other think minimum wage can help you in a certain way. In the midst of the Great Depression, the Unites States federal government passed the Fair Labor Standards Act. The law has been amended almost every year to expand coverage of the wage floor and to increase the wage itself. Many of the fifty states have enacted their own minimum wage laws, some of them set even higher than the federal level. Minimum wage jobs don’t only help adults at hard times it help teenagers and college students. I learned that the proponents for minimum wage believe the raw value of one’s labor to a business
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
There has been many conversations about what the positive impacts can come to America 's lowest income workers as a result of an increase in the minimum wage, and there has also been equally as many discussions over the negative effects the increase can have on similar people. This paper’s purpose is to combine each viewpoint and objectively analyze the arguments for and against an increase in the minimum wage. I will first discuss the benefits for an increase, then the disadvantages, and in the last paragraph, I will
Although many Americans are aware that our country suffers severely in the category of poverty, minimum wage is not factor that many turn to think as a fault. They claim to know about minimum wage; however, it is merely a blank claim because they have neither experienced the hardship under a cap of expenses nor does the issue affect them. In fact, this issue is detrimental to our country as we are slowly falling into unemployment and homelessness. In Barbara Ehrenreich’s book, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, she states that minimum wage had fallen back comparing to the living cost in the 1900s; however, this statement is still true today. Enrenreich is a reliable reporter who travels to three different cities with contrasting backgrounds. She tried to experience the life of a minimum wage worker in order to accurately report the inside scoop of a life that most Americans do not know to exist. As a supporter of her claim after realizing the way our country has been living, I too believe that minimum wage does not fulfill its purpose and should be raised, as it does not serve enough to cover even the essential expenses.
Barbara Mantel “Minimum Wage” According to Barbara Mantel she point out that nearly 47 million Americans, or 15 percent live in poverty according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Many opponents argue that raising the minimum wage will help many low-wage workers from middle class household who are employed part time many supports say many of those household who are struggling financially and would be group as poor if it was not for the government assistances. Further, many workers who are making minimum wage are employed in the food-services industry than any other according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, many advocated imply that raising the federal minimum wage would help the low-come families by decreasing poverty rate and increase
In America and countries around the world, we face a universal problem: poverty. Among many options, a widespread solution for this problem is the implementation of a minimum wage. Aside from the US, countries such as Luxembourg, Belgium, and Ireland all have set minimum wages(Petroff). Minimum wage was first established during the Great Depression when President John F.Kennedy was striving to help the economy and lift many Americans out of poverty(Day). At the time, the minimum wage was $0.25 an hour, which corresponds to about $3.98 an hour in today’s money(Minimum Wage). Since then, the minimum wage has steadily increased to today’s $7.25 an hour. With the fluctuating economy, people’s views and opinions on the subject have swayed every which way throughout the years, with minimum wages rising and falling over different cities, states and countries. The imminent truth is that people simply need more money, with around 60% of the population already in poverty (Dunkelberg). Often times, people are very liberal with this issue and suggest that America raise the minimum wage drastically to $15.00 an hour. The face of the proposition is a pretty one, suggesting that everyone gets more money, so how could one say no? While increasing the minimum wage has had some small benefits, especially from an employee’s perspective, the success of this idea proves to be a facade on the face of the future
The bill was created to “provide for an increase in the Federal minimum wage”, H.R.1010, was introduced March 06, 2013 by representative George Miller of California and 197 other cosponsors under the Democratic party. The bill hoped to increase the minimum wage to aid the economy by boosting consumer spending and aiding working class families. The house of representative bill was “referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce. To become a law it must pass both the U.S. House of Representative, U.S. Senate and then signed by the president of the United States or override the president’s
Minimum wage is a contentious issue only because it is debated by a vast and eclectic audience that cares for the heart of the matter. Minimum wage is at the source of the economist 's main interest; in pursuit of discovering its connection to job loss. Countries all around the globe, maintain minimum wage laws without any noticeable fluctuation. For this reason, it is coming to an apparent importance to policy makers everywhere. Those that tend to earn a minimum wage are mainly coming from low income and minority families. The minimum wage has attracted attention from social activists all over as well. The topic is perhaps most intriguing to the average, normal class American. At some time in our long but short lives, almost every single person has been paid at the minimum wage. Due to this, it is of popular debate over dinner, at restaurants, and in the typical American living room. More importantly it’s now being, and sort of always has been discussed by those of our government.
The topic of whether the minimum wage should be increased or untouched has been a hot topic in the political life lately. The federal minimum wage was first introduced in 1938 at .25 cents an hour by the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to reduce underpaid workers and increase families under the poverty line. President Obama addressed Congress with the rise of fifteen dollars an hour as the federal minimum wage, but it was never passed or put into law. Due to this address, the controversy has risen to an all-time high. The advocacy or this issue has risen, and government administration is stuck not knowing how to solve the issue. The positives and negative hold each other hand in hand causing a great dilemma. Raising minimum wage creates the question of whether or not it could help poverty dissipate, and in reality,
The federally mandated minimum wage has been a divisive political issue in American politics since it first came into effect in 1938 under the Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. FDR advocated for the minimum wage with the argument that “all but the hopelessly reactionary will agree that to conserve our primary resources of manpower, government must have some control over maximum hours, minimum wages, the evil of child labor, and the exploitation of unorganized labor” (Greene 2013). This idea led to the passage of the first minimum wage law in American history, twenty five cents an hour (Greene 2013). Prior to the passage of this law, several state minimum wage laws had been struck down as an unconstitutional prohibition of workers’
So, there has been many discussions on whether or not raising the minimum wage can cause the loss of jobs in the United States. However, there are many different types of discussion about the different issues relating to minimum wage. So overall, it is said that it is appropriate to pay more attention to future job losses cost which is from having higher minimum wage. Of course, this would be against the benefits of minimum wage increases for other workers who expect an increase. It is said that raising the minimum wage definitely raise incomes for workers that are paid low without putting a reduction on the overall employment or job growth significantly.
First, government attempts to force businesses to pay “fair” wages have created much of America’s unemployment problems. Ever increasing minimum wage laws only serve to prevent well-meaning employers from hiring those in desperate need of jobs—low-skilled workers. Businesses can only afford to hire employees who make more money for the company than the company pays them. Unfortunately, governments cannot raise the value of people’s labor any more than they can change the acceleration due to gravity or increase the speed of light. As a result, minimum wage laws do not force businesses to pay “fair” wages; they prevent businesses from hiring low-skilled workers who cannot generate enough revenue to counterbalance the legally required salary. Furthermore, some claim poor workers need protection from exploitation, but the evidence points the opposite way. I have watched friends who searched fruitlessly for jobs rejoice when they finally began earning minimum wage, but I have yet to see a