If your social media circles are anything like mine, you don’t have to scroll very far down your facebook dashboard before you see a ubiquitously shared, ‘liked’ and commented on post disapproving of raising the federal minimum wage. The post may have a picture of a soldier, a disheveled EMT in the back of an ambulance, or a waving American flag with overlying text stating something to the effect of ‘“Burger flippers” think they should be paid as much as these minimum wages workers? No way!’ If my experience on social media is any indicator, the most popular posts always contain “burger flipper” or “baconator.” Posts like the ones described above make moral judgements about the minimum wage with little evidence for those judgements and the flurry of comments that follow often fail to elucidate the key arguments for either the proponents or opposition of raising the minimum wage. In this paper, I will argue that the federal minimum wage should be increased by assessing both value judgements and pragmatic economic arguments to dispel some of the most well-worn of arguments by those who oppose. I will attempt to prove that the minimum wage is not feasible for meeting workers’ needs while discussing the historical context of the minimum wage, discuss human motivation as related to the minimum wage, and disprove common economic arguments borne of catastrophizing. When proponents of raising the minimum wage such as myself discuss the need for an increase, they cite the right of
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.
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
Would raising minimum wage benefit our society? Changing minimum wage could potentially hurt the economy. It would be nice to have an increase in pay; However it would only lead to inflation (The act of inflating or the state of being inflated Webster dictionary) with the economy.
From the article, what I have gathered that there has been a detailed deliberation and
When we think about minimum wage and what our belief on raising it is, most people think one of two things. People hold to the belief that a raise to the minimum wage good for the economy or it is bad for the economy. The authors of “the minimum wage debate” (Hassett & Strain, 2013) would attempt to have us look at the debate in another way. In their article they use a number of rhetorical techniques on us to try and have the reader examine why they are in favor of a raise in the minimum wage. Are we in favor of the minimum wage increase because we believe it will truly help the American people or do we believe in it because we are told to by the government?
Minimum wage is an ongoing debate in the United States. There are some people who think that it should be raised to a higher rate and others who think that it should not. There are many different pros and cons with raising minimum wage. Minimum wage is at a balanced rate that should not be raised due to lack of skill, low education, and economic problems.
Protesters demonstrate for higher minimum wages every year. Protesters demand even higher wages than what some employers can handle paying. All people want to be able to live without worrying if they can pay for the necessities of life. We all want to be able to enjoy the high life, which comes with earning more money. Even if the amount of minimum wage cannot benefit us all with great impact, it can at least benefit those who need the money to rise above the poverty line. Many people don’t understand that there are also negative outcomes of wanting increase the minimum wage for employees. Most people only consider that the money earned will help themselves and their family members. Nevertheless, one thing the people know is that a small wage of 7 – 8 dollars isn’t enough to live well on. Nor is a higher wage of 10 – 15 dollars satisfying enough for us either. These issues show we need a balanced
What if a 16 year old was making $18,000 a year after taxes, working only 25 hours a week? Most likely you would expect that teenager to have a pretty prestigious job at such a young age. However that is not the case, if the minimum wage is raised to $15 an hour, a 16 year old could make $18,000 yearly working only 25 hours a week at McDonalds. Now for teenagers that have goals for college or a car, that would money to set aside for the future, however most 16 year olds do not have those goals in mind yet, so that extra money turns into wasted money. As of February 2016 the minimum wage ranges anywhere from $7.25-$10 across the United States. Florida’s rate is at $8.05 an hour, however some believe the minimum wage should be raised to $15 an hour in all states(Raise).” People working in minimum wage jobs may feel as if this $7 bump would be a great advantage to them, but there are possible negative results of doing this too. As a manager of a restaurant where employees start at minimum wage, I can only imagine the effects our company would feel. Raising the minimum wage is not the solution to helping people out of poverty , I feel it will only be enabling them to stay in the same position they are in and give less motivation for teens to further their generation. Increasing the minimum wage will harm businesses and will decrease the motivation to get a further education.
This paper gives an insight on the debate whether the minimum wage should be raised to $10 an hour or not in the United States. There is a big debate in the United States regarding as to whether the minimum wage should be raised to $10 per hour, but before we go into details of the debate lets first understand what is meant by a minimum wage and how did it come into existence. A minimum wage is the lowest wage that is paid to workers by their employers, and the government legally sets it. A minimum wage is a price floor, workers are not allowed to sale their services below price, and the government legally sets the price (Neumark et al 2008). Although the minimum wage is put into effect in jurisdictions, there exist different opinions
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
“Every penny makes a difference because low-wage workers make the choice between putting food on the table and paying for electricity or buying clothes for their children,” argues union official and author Beth Shulman. As society continues to grow our means of gathering necessities depletes. We begin choosing either higher education or no debt in the future. The very things we have worked for are simply taken from us all because of price and future impediments. To yield change the minimum wage should be raised to help families, boost the economy and fit the society we have now. The increase in inflation that fluctuates our economy and expenses needs to be adjusted to what the people have to give. However, there are some that seem to have the perspective that if we raise the wage it will cause more disputes. From yours truly I say “How bad could it be. We have to get worse before we can get better.”
Since 1968 Americans have lost about twenty five percent of their purchasing power. The United States federal minimum wage has not been increased since 2009, this means that minimum wage has not kept up with inflation. In America if you work Forty hours a week you should not be in poverty. The minimum wage should be increased because it has not kept up with inflation and an increase would stimulate the economy.
The real question everyone wants to know is, is the minimum wage going to increase or will it remain the same? Let's go back in time to where it all started in 1938. President Franklin D. Roosevelt set the minimum wage to $0.25 cents an hour. FDR had a great statement about minimum wage and it's not for little kids. The statement proposes "is the amount of money a family can make in order to survive." Originally that was what the minimum wage was established as. Problem is, other salaries have risen exponentially and the minimum wage has remained stagment and has not kept up with inflation. With every new president there has been an increase in minimum wage, whether it was a big jump or just simply $1.50
Paying for a college education constructs a dilemma when only earning 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 the minimum wage should increase or stay 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. Rex Huppke’s article “The argument against raising minimum wage” delivers a more effective argument than John Komlos’ article “Why raising the minimum wage is good economics” through the use of ethos, logos, and a valid conclusion.
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