Essay on The Debate over Raising the Minimum Wage

Should the minimum wage increased to $10.10 an hour? This has increased over the years and everyone has their opinions. Those who are in favor of increasing minimum wage to $10.10 believe that more money will decrease poverty and the unemployment rate. Those who oppose the increase in the minimum wage, believe that it should not be increased and should stay the same, because it will cause businesses to close up because they are not making enough money to survive in the economy An increase in minimum wage would have to make the employees work harder to make increase sales of the business. I believe that the minimum wage should not increase to $10.10.

Although America is known as the richest country in the world, 43 million of its citizens are in poverty. Unfortunately, some of them work full time, yet are still in poverty due to the low minimum wage (“Should We Raise”). In 1928, the first federal minimum wage of 25 cents per hour was set by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to prevent workers from being underpaid. Since 2009, the federal minimum wage has been $7.25 (Smith). The age old debate of whether or not to raise it is still going on in the US. The federal minimum wage should be increased to keep up with inflation, help support the poor, and stimulate the economy.

"According to a 2014 Congressional Budget Office report, increasing the minimum wage to $9 would lift 300,000 people out of poverty, and an increase to $10.10 would lift 900,000 people out of poverty.” Currently the federal minimum wage is $7.25. The government should raise the minimum wage to $9.25 per hour. We need to raise the minimum wage to the point where the lowest paid worker can afford their basic needs. Raising the minimum wage would strengthen the workforce and the economy.

Investing in employees is the single most important investment that a company can make. A lot of Americans are now in deep poverty, or have a huge amount of debt to catch up too. With the thought of that, in the United States today, millions of Americans are living on the federal minimum wage of $7.25. For this case, it is necessary that there is a need for an increase in the federal minimum wage because it would be much more beneficial to both the economy of the United States and to individual workers because more Americans need spending power, higher minimum wage will help close the wide gap between the wealthy and the poor, and the working poor need to protect themselves in case something goes wrong.

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.

Minimum wage is the lowest amount of pay that employers can legally pay their workers. Minimum wage in the United States, is set at $7.25, the federal government takes out up to 12 percent of the whole payment for taxes. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) are the ones who have set the minimum wage from 1938 to the current year, 2017. The FLSA is a law that sets various labor regulations that includes interstate commerce employment, requirements for overtime pay, and the limits on child labor. Some argue that teenagers and low paying workers should be paid more than $7.25 dollars an hour, while others argue that they should suck it up and be thankful for what are paid. Researchers have stated that high minimum wage increases have helped bring the poverty level down in the United States. Other researchers have said that the level of minimum wage has little to no effect on the poverty level. Minimum wage is a happy medium that a company or organization sets for an employee; they use this as a starting point for an employee to receive raises and bonuses. Minimum wage is thought out to be by some a terrible thing because it is the reason our poverty levels are down, but with the minimum wage it has helped with economic growth.

The modern minimum wage was established by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) Franklin Roosevelt signed the law which passed by an overwhelming majority (Grossman, 1978). While a minimum wage is certainly an altruistic idea and one that receives widespread public support, there is a question among economists such as Richard Burkhauser as to the effectiveness of minimum wage on reducing the level of poverty. “Minimum-wage increases (1998-2003) did not affect poverty rates overall, or among the working poor” (Burkhauser & Sabia, 2007). In addition, some of the minimum wage laws which came before the FLSA were challenged in the Supreme Court, such as in Schecter Poultry Corporate v. U.S in 1935, and declared unconstitutional. While there

In todays back and forth economy it has become increasingly more difficult for a person to support a family, much less themselves, solely on the income from a minimum wage job. With federal minimum wage sitting just over seven dollars an hour, those tasked with budgeting these kind of meager earnings have begun to question why they dont deserve more pay. Some states have their own laws with discretion over minimum wage pay, and 29 states and DC all currently have minimum wage standards higher than the federal standard, but not necessarily by much. Those working labor jobs, where minimum wage is the compensation they receive for their time and energy, are struggling to afford such basic necessities as housing and food, even when they work

In recent years, the discussion of whether or not to raise the minimum wage has once again surfaced as a popular topic of deliberation among U.S. policymakers. Serious thought is being given to the suggestion of increasing the federal minimum wage “by more than thirty-nine percent [from the current rate of $7.25 per hour to a proposed $10.10 per hour] and mandating automatic increases every year by the rate of inflation” (Alexander, 2013). This new proposition is receiving its share of both support and criticism. Maybe the important question we should be asking, however, is if this new increase is approved, will this time differ from previous attempts and actually benefit those whom it is intended to help?

In “The minimum wage: To raise it or not to raise.” Mike Patton explains the negative effects of raising it. He addresses the various consequences this change would lead to the society in a long-term scenario. Even though protestors believe that the best choice they have to improve their economic situation is to get a higher wage, this action would lead not only to atrocious but perilous complications. It is undeniable that we are always seeking for an improvement in our economy but the issue of increasing the minimum wage cannot be discussed without considering the negative outcome of this tremendous change.

When you have a job to where you have to deal with so much, but you only receiving 7.25 an hour. You always thinking to yourself that you deserve way better than date. Alabama has no minimum wage and the federal minimum of $7.25 applies in the state. The Birmingham City Council passed an ordinance Tuesday to set a minimum hourly wage in the city and increase it to $10.10 an hour by July 2017. Alabama is one of the top ten poorest states in the United States and our poverty rate is 18.7 percent. In the years of 2011 to 2013 nearly 17 percent of our people struggled to find food. In 2013, almost one million Alabamians depended on food stamps for their home. Raising minimum wage for Alabama has to happen by the year of 2018 because we all have to provide for our families in all types of ways, there would be way many more students in college, and Alabama could change for good.

"No family gets rich from earning the minimum wage. In fact, the current minimum wage does not even lift a family out of poverty."

The minimum wage is a complex issue specially here in the US, I keep asking myself the question: what gives government the right to set wages?  Where in the Constitution does it say that this is the government's role?  Wouldn’t be best to let the free market determine the wages earned? Wouldn't there be more incentive in improving ones’ skills if they are hired according to their ambition and desire to improve? Giving that one of the obscure effects of minimum wage is the mentality that kids should stay in school in order to earn a better life and yet we're shocked, when these same kids end up not being able to find a job or needing to take a minimum wage when they graduate college, and what about people without an education? Commonly the only

The minimum wage law was first enacted in January 1938 (Mutari, Ellen), and since then, people have falsely been led to believe that it is beneficial to the economy as well as the general population. It has commonly been seen as a method to reduce poverty by redistributing income in order to make sure that people earn a healthy, living wage; however, evidence has shown that it in fact does just the opposite. Forcing a minimum wage goes against the free market, and severely disrupts the natural process of supply and demand. Disrupting the supply and demand process results in many negative consequences, and produces an important question: should the minimum wage law exist? The minimum wage law should not exist because it causes increased

America is supposed to be for the people, but what if the people are not getting paid what they deserve? As citizens, our duty is to vote and fight for what we believe in. Inevitably, there is conflict since we are all faced with a decision- whether you vote for, against, or not at all. How do we relieve the pressure caused by inflation? Consequently, will a raise in the minimum wage quicken the replacement of manual labor and increase unemployment rates? I analyzed two sides: David Neumark's reasonable argument against the hike and co-authors Ali Monceax and David Najarian's emotionally saturated pep talk.  Opinions aside, the different methods and similar subject matters give us a chance to crack open what both authors succeeded and neglected.