To Raise Or Not To Raise The Minimum Wage By Douglas Holtz-Eakin

Rex Huppke, a writer for the Chicago tribune,writes about how raising the minimum wage may not be as positive to the society and economy as Americans are lead to believe. After interviewing many specialist and professors concerning this subject, he concludes that despite what other newspapers are saying raising the minimum wage could damage the economy. As an effect of what the media is saying this article was written to inform the public of the real cost of raising minimum wage.

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.

For many years, there has been an ongoing and strong debate in the United States on whether or not minimum wage should be raised from $7.25 an hour to over $10.00 an hour. Minimum wage is the lowest amount a company or employer can pay their employees. Many argue that the benefits of raising minimum wage surpass the negatives, yet many also disagree. But as a whole, the benefits of a higher minimum wage clearly outweigh the costs that come with it. Minimum wage should be raised because it would increase economic activity, reduce poverty levels, and allow for less government spending.

The first reason why the Untied States should increase minimum wage is to reduce poverty rates. An anti-poverty tool is simply whether employers would employ fewer workers if they had to pay higher wages. Which I believe is wrong because since they would be increasing minimum wage then the employers will be making more money, which then opens up more employment options. In addition, if employers are paying more, they will want to hire more experienced or more educated workers. But, this is why we would increase minimum wage so that more people can afford to go to school and finish their education so that they will be able to receive those jobs. Also, between 1998 and 2004 retail employment rose more than three times faster in states with minimum wage above the

A big debate in today's world is whether or not the federal minimum wage should be raised or it should stay the same. There are many reasons it's should not be raised. If it is kept the same it will be more beneficial than having it raised.

"Should the Federal Minimum Wage Be Increased?" Procon.org. Procon.org, 10 Feb. 2017. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

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.

Today our society encounters multiple controversial issues that generations before hand would have never dreamed of having. A common controversy in America is the issue over minimum wage. The main issue over minimum wage is whether or not it should be raised or if it should stay the same. Personally I feel that it should remain the same. Minimum wage jobs were not created to become careers. Increasing minimum wage can lead to many things such as the loss of jobs, the increase of prices, and could also keep people from reaching their true potential.

Where to set the minimum wage has been a huge debate topic for years. The smallest increase or decrease can have a large overall impact on the economy. Do you think the minimum wage in California should be raised to $15 an hour? This is a question many in my home state are currently asking. California’s current wage is $9/hr., and the federal government is raising it to $10/hr. in January 2016. It may seem like common sense that if you have a higher minimum wage, then there will be less poverty. This is what I first thought when looking at this issue. However, Holtz-Eakin observed that a vast majority of minimum wage workers are in fact not living in poverty (Deutsch). Many minimum wage workers are not living under the poverty line, but simply

Multiple studies have demonstrated little to no relationship between a higher minimum wage and reductions in poverty the institute says in a policy brief”. Where does this all leave the minimum wage? Harkins bill has been referred to committee which means it is several legislative steps away from becoming a law. And in a highly polarized election season action on such a controversial issue is unlikely. raising the minimum wage will hurt the smaller businesses that cannot afford to pay their employees more than what the minimum is now. Raising minimum wage is a vicious circle the government raises it because it hasnt been raised in years and as soon as its raised everything else goes up immediately to compensate. If it were easy for businesses to pay higher wages than they would! Now think about this. If a business has three people working for it and it is a very small business but the people want to be payed more. So they start getting people to protest and then the minimum wage gets raised. The business can no longer pay all three so they fire

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

There is an argument as to whether the government should be involved in controlling the minimum wage. There needs to be a fair wage and without a law against unfair pay many people would not be able to have enough money to survive so therefore,The government should be involved in raising the minimum wage because it needs to be raised, raising it will help our economy,and the minimum wage protects the poor and inexperienced.

The living standards for impoverished people are extremely low due to the minimum wage rate. Indeed similar to the title of a New York Times article, “Can’t Win for Losing”. Many have argued, that raising the rate of minimum wage will only encourage children to drop out of school, and cause unemployment. Although it is agreeable that $15.00 an hour is unviable, it should also be compliant that $7.25 per hour is completely ludicrous. As an American citizen of the United States today, you just simply cannot earn a living on the minimum wage

When asked about protests around the country to raise the minimum wage to 15 dollars, which equates to about $31,000 per year, he said, ”with taxes too high, wages too high, we’re not going to be able to compete against the world. I hate to say it, but we have to leave it the way it is. People have to go out, they have to work really hard and have to get into that upper stratosphere”. Those who are for a raised minimum wage state that currently it isn’t enough to live on, and that most people who do earn minimum wage don’t even work for 35 hours a week. They also argue that it could act as a stimulus when low-income houses earn more money, then they are likely to spend it, which would put more money into the economy. The American Economic Policy Institute said "By increasing workers' take-home pay, families gain both financial security and an increased ability to purchase goods and services, thus creating jobs for other Americans”. But those who are against it argue that studies have shown that increasing the minimum wage does not decrease poverty. They also argue that it would put pressure on small business owners, causing them to hire fewer workers, and also causing the unemployment rate to increase even more.

The most prevalent and steadfast myth surrounding the raising of the federal minimum wage is that it will doom the economy. This might seem logical at first, but just think about it for a second. Why do minimum wage employees need more cash? The answer is simple: To spend it, to buy the things that they and their families need to survive. “Most minimum wage workers need this income to make ends meet and spend it quickly, boosting the economy. Research indicates that for every $1 added to the minimum wage, low-wage worker households spent an additional $2,800 the following year” (Fair). Furthermore, EPI estimates that if the federal minimum wage were raised to $10.10 an hour, it would result in over