Essay On Pros And Cons Of Raising Minimum Wage

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Many families have to have strict budgets due to only making minimum wage. The minimum wage is not enough money for most people, in fact, most of the people that make minimum wage, work multiple jobs, leading them to overwork themselves constantly. Increasing the minimum wage has been a major argument for quite some time. Some people argue that the minimum wage should be raised to help benefit workers and reduce poverty. They also believe that raising the minimum wage would input more money into the economy, allowing it to strive. Minimum wage is not enough for people to rely on. Many people that make minimum wage are likely to go through a time of poverty. Employees that make minimum wage are said to put less effort into the job, than the …show more content…

The blog, “Pros and Cons of Raising the Minimum Wage,” written by Tejvan Pettinger, an economics professor at Greenes College, offers a compiled list of pros and cons of the increase in minimum wage. When the government raises the minimum wage, it is proven that “a higher minimum wage reduces labour market turnover. Workers have a greater incentive to stay in a job where they get better paid. Similarly, firms have more incentive to train higher-paid workers. Lower labour market turnover helps to reduce the costs of firms” If workers are paid more, they are more likely to stay where they are and put more effort into the job. A higher minimum wage will give workers the desire to work more, improving labor productivity levels. A server at a local restaurant was asked a couple of questions in an interview conducted a few weeks ago regarding a minimum wage increase. She was asked if the minimum wage were to be increased, would she have more of a desire to go to work? She responded, “the minimum wage for servers is significantly lower than it is for non-tipped workers, so on days where I don’t receive a lot of tips, it forces me to make sacrifices I would rather not make, which in turn, brings down my desire to go to work and work hard. So yes, if the minimum wage were to be increased, I would enjoy going to work and doing my absolute best.” If she were to make more money, she would not have to work more …show more content…

The article, “What Are the Pros and Cons of Raising the Minimum Wage?” written by J.B. Maverick, a commodity futures broker and stock market analyst, provides a list of the pros and cons of the debate about raising the minimum wage. The article argues that, “among the disadvantages of increasing the minimum wage is the probable consequence of businesses increasing prices, thus fueling inflation” While this statement is partially correct, it is entirely misleading. Business prices will increase considering they are paying their workers more. Nevertheless, with the employees getting paid higher wages, more money will be put into surrounding businesses, causing a sustainable and well-functioning economy. While increasing the minimum wage will cause inflation, “our model-based analysis suggests that the Federal Reserve’s tolerance of higher temporary inflation could support any expansionary effects of a minimum wage increase and mitigate any contractionary effects'' An increase in the federal minimum wage would cause inflation, however, it would in no way be detrimental to the economy. Experiencing a temporary increase in inflation would only harm the economy for a short amount of time, but, once employees start maintaining a more comfortable lifestyle from the increase in their pay, inflation will balance out, allowing the economy to

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