Why Should Minimum Wage Be Allowed?

Right now,according to Victoria Smith,over 40 million people are living in poverty. This could be changed if they were able to get enough money from their jobs, but the minimum wage isn’t high enough right now. Even if only by a little, if minimum wage were raised, the amount of people living in poverty could be reduced by at least 5 million according to Mike Konczal . Originally, the minimum wage was at only .25 cents an hour. Due to causes such as inflation, this wage has been raised to meet the current standard. Although interest in raising the wage has gone away until recently. Minimum wage should be increased because it would increase job growth and economic activity,it would reduce government spending on welfare, and reduce poverty.

What kind of pay would you demand if you were expected to clean dirty toilets, pick up germy trash, and deal with customers who are nasty, rude and disrespectful to you while you are serving them? Would you do it for three dollars an hour? What about seven or eight dollars an hour? Well, many minimum wage jobs involve such duties as these. However, the minimum wage here in Illinois is only $8.25 per hour (US Dept. of Labor, 2014). In Indiana, the state where I work, it is a dollar less than that (US Dept. of Labor, 2014). The following information will discuss reasons why this wage should be increased and the benefits that accompany an increase for all of us regardless to whether we earn the minimum wage or a higher a wage.

It 's the year 2014, and we are in the state of the financial crisis which is still being felt

The selling point that has brought people to the United States for centuries is the American dream: Prosperity, Luxury, Opportunity, and so on. Unfortunately for many, this dream has been squandered by the receding economy of an indebted country. As inflation runs rampant, the value of the U.S. dollar decreases, lowering the value of household and business incomes. This economic recession has led many, especially those who only earn the minimum wage, to poverty. According to the United States Department of Labor, “The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour” (“Wage and Hour Division”). Some people believe that a solution to this problem is to raise the minimum wage; however, doing so would ultimately result in a negative effect on the

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

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.

On July 24th, 2009, the United States of America raised the minimum wage to $7.25. However, six years later the minimum wage rage remains the same. It is time once again for the federal government to raise the minimum wage to spur the economy. Raising the minimum wage would help the American economy and the daily life of the citizens for a variety of reasons. The first topic is that it not only would help the people but it also would help the economy as a whole. The second topic is that companies are already raising the minimum wage because of the lack of money workers get. Finally the third supporting idea is that the states are also raising it over the federal minimum wage and also how can help poverty. There are many more topics on why the minimum wage should be raised but these reasons are the most important.

Since 2008, McDonald’s and Walmart corporations have paid their employees’ by the same federal minimum wage amount of $7. 25 per hour (Friedman, 2015). Not until recently, news stations have reported that most McDonalds and Walmart employees live below the poverty line. In fact, McDonalds has started their own McResource Line to give their employees advice on how to provide for their families while living on a minimum wage budget. Soon after, the company renounced their website after the backlash it caused from the media. Therefore, McDonalds and Walmart decided to raise their minimum wage to $9 an hour (Gasparro and Morath, 2015; Friedman, 2015). After researching, I believe large corporations such as McDonalds and Walmart should have to pay living wages, and it is extremely unethical for these

The income inequality gap is a huge problem when 1% makes more than the 99%. The Debate that is happening right now is whether the United States of America should raise the federal minimum wage or not. They are plenty of pro and cons for raising the federal minimum wage. The federal minimum wage is 7.50 an hour, but many states and cities have a different minimum wage depending on the states, city, and cost to living in that city/state. The Los Angeles city council has passed a city ordinance to raise the city's minimum wage, which would increase the minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour by 2020. Other citizens across the country have been rallying for their cities to raise the minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour, while some a little

bills. With a minimum wage job, one will receive about $800 a month, only if

The world is filled with luxuries such as personal islands, gold-plated cars, or crystal pianos. What about everyday items like food, clothing, and shelter? Families in the United States can barely afford such items because of an American tragedy: the minimum wage. Though the sights and sounds of fluttering money is alluring, it is also elusive. The minimum wage is a tragic loss for the United States because it cannot even provide the bare minimum for employees working tirelessly for it. Opposition of raising it can be negated by statistics that show how the country can move into a brighter future. Data from economic research shows

For example there is a big gap in the amount people get paid in the state in Nebraska, where the tipped wage is $2.13 and the general wage is $9.00 an hour. It is also unfair because in other states like Montana, Nevada and California have little to no gaps, this means that these states are being payed the same amount in tipped wage and general minimum wage.

The topic on whether the minimum wage should be increased our untouched has been a hot topic in the media and political scene lately. Both the republicans and democrats have spent some big bucks lobbying their insights on the matter. There has been a lot of subjective and objective arguments that are reasonable on both the pros and cons of increasing our national minimum wage. To add to the drama associated with this topic, President Obama endorsed a bill proposing a nearly 40% rise from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour. The President has been campaigning around the country ever since his State of the Union address, pushing congress to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. Many say this is too high due to the costs of enacting such an increase, and many say this is a little low due to the increased cost of living. After looking into both sides of this debate, I realize that overall it would be better for the well-being of our nation to increase the minimum wage due to the short term and long term costs that an increase of the minimum wage could lead to. In terms of helping out the lower class and poor citizens of the United States, increasing the minimum wage level is not the answer.

“Just for fun, Fortune wondered how many hours it would take a Wal-Mart employee earning the increased minimum salary to earn the same amount of compensation as CEO Doug McMillon. The answer? It would take more than 2.8 million hours of earning $9 per hour to reach the roughly $25.6 million in compensation McMillon earned in 2014, his first year on the job.” (Huddleston)

Companies and small business’s pay their employe’s hourly wages based on a minimum wage. Today in America we have many hard workers who are working for minimum wage which consists of $7.25 per hour. There is some businesses that believe all employees should be paid at minimum wage while other businesses pay well over minimum wage. Skills, attitude, responsibility and work ethic all affect how employers base employees hourly wage. When looking at the economy the government should not increase mnimum wages, there are many factors that affect minimum wage such as elasticty of demand, and how education and skills can increase minimum wage.