The Impact Of The Minimum Wage

To begin, there is an extensive debate over whether if the U.S were to raise minimum wage, could it really help the working poor of low income families. Nancy Cook, in her article from the National Journal, “Why a Minimum-Wage Hike Can’t Help the Poor”, she points out that two thirds of around 100 surveys from 2007 had a negative effect and that it does more for the middle class than the lower one. (p.14). So, therefore, from her

The first federal minimum wage mandated by the government was in 1938. When the first minimum wage became law in 1938, it was set at just 25 cents. Today, the federal minimum wage mandated by the government is set at $7.25 an hour. “Many states have their own set minimum wages, which are currently above $7.25 per hour already. Currently, 29 states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) have minimum wages above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. D.C. 's new wage of $10.50 an hour makes it the first jurisdiction to cross the $10 threshold among the states,” (Halvorson). The last time that the federal minimum wage mandated by the government was changed was over 8 years ago. “The last time Congress voted to raise the minimum wage to its current rate of $7.25 an hour was on May 24, 2007. Since then, the cost of life 's essentials has shot up. Groceries cost 20% more, a gallon of gas costs 25% more, and average tuition at a community college increased 44%. But the minimum wage remains at

In a world governed by the rule of currency has a major effect toward the amount an individual owns. The current world economy, labor is required in order to supply services to whomever is willing to buy. The amount of money distributed and earned throughout the economy feeds the nation 's GDP, which shows the stability of the overall economy of that nation. There is an imaginary sequence that must be established in an economy in order to balance both labor and revenue to stabilize a country’s economy.

Should minimum wage be increased? Passage one strongly supports and gives details on why minimum wage should be raised. Many workers are asking for a national minimum wage increase to $15 per hour, while others say that a higher minimum wage will stifle business and ultimately hurt the economy. So, should the minimum wage be increased or not? The federal minimum wage was introduced in 1938 during the Great Depression under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It was initially set at $0.25 per hour and has been increased by Congress 22 times, most recently in 2009 when it went from $6.55 to $7.25 an hour. 29 states plus the District of Columbia (DC) have a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage. 2,561,000 workers earn the federal minimum wage or below.

Raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour can have detrimental effects on society. Some issues that may arise are increases in unemployment and small businesses not being able to handle the financial burden, which will lead into job benefit cuts. Furthermore, a rise in minimum wage will cause inflation and businesses to raise the prices of their goods and services. People purchasing power will continue to stay the same; the struggle to close the gap between products and services will not

We all want to help others. It’s part of our human nature. So why not raise the minimum wage and help these people living on the poverty line to provide a little extra for their family? It sounds like the right thing to do. But is it really helping? The ethical, legal and political standpoints on the minimum wage increase are complicated at best. Throughout this paper you will be informed on both sides of the

House Bill 230, or the most recent bill introduced in North Carolina to increase minimum wage, was introduced by the House of Representatives on March 12, 2015. After the first version of the Bill was introduced, it was revised once. The bill was introduced because the goal of the state is to provide a minimum wage that allows for a decent and healthy life for its citizens. As the value of the American dollar continues to change, so does the average cost of living. The primary sponsors of the Bill were Representatives Farmer-Butterfield, L. Hall, Fisher, and Cunningham. The Bill states that “Employers shall pay employees wages no less than the minimum wage for all hours worked in North Carolina.” It then states that minimum wage in North

The minimum wage has been around since the Great Depression in 1938 under the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Initially, the government set the minimum wage at $0.25 per hour to now $7.25 an hour, although some states decide to have a lower rate than the national rate or have no minimum at all. The heated debate over raising the national rate of the minimum wage has been on everybody’s lips since there was the question of whether to alter the rate or not. I support the raising of minimum wage because of the fact that raising the minimum wage would improve the income of people in poverty and economy of America. For the same reason, raising the minimum wage would lift the incomes of about 18 million hard-working people.

Throughout the years, numerous people have struggled financially due to the low paying minimum wage. In 1938, a Federal minimum wage was introduced by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, due to the Great Depression. The first minimum wage, which was originally coined as $0.25, has been increased by congress 22 times, most recently in 2009, where the minimum wage was increased by seventy cents. However, the current wage is valued at a lower price than what the original minimum wage would be valued as today. Therefore, it has lacked the ability to keep up with rising prices. The Federal Minimum Wage should be raised in order to stimulate the economy, and keep up with inflation.

Many people wonder if a raise in the federal minimum wage would help or hurt American. The federal minimum wage was introduced in 1938 during the great depression under FDR. It was initially set at 25 cents per hour and has been increased by congress 22 times. No we should not raise the federal minimum wage because it would hurt small businesses, increase competition between worker, and increase prices of good.

The law established a minimum wage of 25 cents per hour for all employees who produced products shipped in interstate commerce. Mark Wilson in his article states “That wage is equivalent to $4.04 in today’s purchasing power” (Wilson). The federal minimum as of now is 7.25 dollars and according to the National Conference of State Legislature, “currently 29 states and D.C. have minimum wages above the federal minimum wage” (NCSL). That’s not enough to keep a parent who works for that wage full-time, year-round above the poverty line, nor is it enough to make market rent in any state. Author Barbara Ehrenriech in her article Serving in Florida, tells her story of going undercover and becoming a low-wage worker. She wanted to experience firsthand what it is like to survive off minimum wage. During her article she claims, “There are no secret economies that nourish the poor; on the contrary, there are a host of special costs” (Ehrenriech 470). She continues to explain the struggles that low-wage workers go through every day. For example, she describes the obstacle she could face when looking for an apartment, “if you can’t put up the two months’ rent you need to secure an apartment, you end up paying through the nose for a room by the week. You eat fast food or the hot dogs and Styrofoam cups of soup that can be microwaved in a convenience store” (Ehrenriech 470). Ehrenriech depicts the everyday problems throughout her article through actual experience and also enlightens her and others view toward minimum wage

Minimum wage is the topic I chose because there has been a controversy regarding raising minimum wage and the impact of minimum wage to the society. Whether it would aid workers or not. There have been arguments of laypersons of increasing minimum wage to a very high level and there are arguments against it.

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).

“Franklin Roosevelt’s 1937 impassioned speech calling on Congress to help the one-third of Americans who were “ill-housed, ill-clad, and ill-nourished” heralded in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and with it a national minimum wage. Echoes of that speech are still heard today. Senator Edward Kennedy (1989: S14707), in his criticism of the most recent increases in the minimum wage, declared:

The idea of having a federal minimum wage is a good one. The idea is to protect low and unskilled workers from discrimination and allow all workers to earn a living wage. The recent debate on the floor, though, is whether or not to raise the minimum wage from the current $7.25 per hour up to $10.10 per hour. President Barack Obama made this proposal during his annual State of the Union Address on January 28, and following this there were many hot debates about it. The debates focused not only on the advantages and the disadvantages of increasing the minimum wage, but also the alternatives to increasing it.