Why the free market wage is BETTER! There are many reasons why a free market wage is better than a minimum wage. The debate has raged on for ages but below are four points which we believe shows that a free market wage is the better option.
1. The main argument that the minimum wage campaign puts forward, is that raising the minimum wage will decrease poverty and improve the living standards of more people. BUT……. According to a report dated March 2008, conducted by the Development Policy Research Unit (D.P.R.U) based in South Africa raising the minimum wage will have little to no effect on poverty. In the table 1 and 2 on page 7 the CGE results compare two scenarios. In the first you see a situation with no labour productivity. This shows
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As opposed to the minimum wage, we believe that a free market wage will be more beneficial for South Africans. The free market wage is calculated as the standard rate paid for skilled labor , which requires education, training as well as a certain amount of experience in a basic area of work.
From an employment point of view free market wages , unlike the implementation of a minimum wage , does not raise cost for businesses nor does it run the risk of increasing an already high unemployment rate in South Africa. The free market wage would encourage people to better themselves through higher education as they will not be willing to settle for just anything and this would then benefit both households and businesses as there will be an increase in the number of skilled workers available and willing to work and increase productivity for businesses thus making it possible for expansion and in turn creating more jobs along with improving the country’s economy.
An increased number of skilled workers would mean a better chance of them finding jobs and also a greater chance of them not depending on social welfare as much, giving government the opportunity of using these extra funds for the improvement of the country’s infrastructure, it could be used to develop the skills of the youth entering into the workforce for the first time and it could also lessen the burden on
First, one main reason that the minimum wage should be raised is because the economy will prosper. “Economic Policy Institute stated that a minimum wage increase from the current rate of $7.25 an hour to $10.10 would inject $22.1 billion net into the economy and create about 85,000 new jobs over a three-year phase-in period” (ProCon). This quote shows that the economy will flourish from the increase of the minimum wage and that unemployment will decrease. Another quote that shows how raising the minimum wage will affect employment is “To the extent that through these contour effects it affords as much as 70 percent of the workforce greater purchasing power, it effectively increases aggregate demand for goods and services, which should ultimately lead to the creation of more jobs” (Challenger 19). Bryan Covert supports raising the minimum wage by
Reasons Not to Raise the Minimum Wage Raise the Minimum Wage Would result in job losses. It hurt low skilled workers be harder to find a job. Minimum wage increases dose not reduce poverty. Result In higher Prices For consumers, the costs of minimum wage increases must be paid by someone.
The minimum wage is especially difficult on small businesses, and there is no evidence that it reduces poverty. (Federal Minimum Wage 1) Finally, if we raise minimum raise it will make the economy better because people will have more money to spend. When people have more money they will buy more products for business. When people buy more things other companies will make more money and that helps them.
The federal minimum wage should be increased because raising it would increase the economic activity and spur job growth, decrease poverty, and also improvements in productivity and economic growth have outpaced increases in the minimum wage. Increases in job growth and economic activity will happen when the minimum wage is elevated. If the minimum wage was increased it will “inject 22.1 billion net into the economy and create about 85,000 new jobs over a three year period”. (“Raising the Federal minimum Wage to $10.10 Would Lift Wages for Millions and Provide a Modest Economic Boost") Thousands of new jobs will be created and it will put billions of dollars into the economy.
Is it really a good thing to raise the minimum wage to meet the basic need for poor people? Is it the best way to prevent poverty rate and income inequality? Answers must vary from skeptical to comprehensive response depending on whoever answers these questions. Amid a debate on this
At first glance, raising the current minimum wage seems like an outstanding idea and one may think, “Hey, it’s not hurting anyone.” In reality these good intentions will result in many unintended consequences such as causing businesses to hire fewer workers, it has no effect on reducing poverty and will decrease employment. A common misconception referring to minimum wage in the United States is that the current minimum wage is not enough to make a living and support a family. The majority of minimum wage workers are between the ages of 16 and 24 years old.
A controversial topic often debated between liberals and conservatives is the minimum wage issue. While many liberals advocate for raising it, a number of conservatives are persistent on keeping the rate constant; however, studies show that raising minimum wage would not alleviate this country’s poverty issue and would, in fact, increase the unemployment. For these reasons, the minimum wage should not be raised. Increasing the minimum wage would cause economic strain in many ways to workers already living in poverty. According to James Sherk’s article: ‘Raising the Minimum Wage Will Not Reduce Poverty’, raising minimum wage to seven dollars and twenty five cents would cause an estimated eight percent of current workers to lose their jobs.
Since the Great Depression, there has been a minimum wage in America, but this minimum wage has changed 22 times since the Great Deprnbession. Many people say minimum wage should stay at $7.25 like it has been since 2009. Meanwhile, other people believe that minimum wage should be $15.00 so they can have more money to live comfortably. People think that a higher minimum wage will help, but it will hurt more people than it will help. If America makes the minimum wage $9.00, people will no longer be in poverty and it will make the economy balance out.
Minimum wage and poverty With everything going on with the Walmart workers picketing for fifteen dollars an hour wages, the topic is widely discussed with many people taking many different sides. The essay “Raising the Minimum wage will reduce poverty” By Sharon Parrott and Jason Furman, They go into how they think the minimum wage should be raised in order to decrease poverty in america, Of course there are reasons to raise it and reasons to not raise it. Yet with the multitude of reasons for and against it, it’s hard to make a decision that makes everybody content, Some of the reasons not to raise it include, Raising it can make prices for everyday items go up, Why go and spend thousands of dollars on college when you could get a decent job right out of high school, and Why let workers who work at unskilled jobs make as much if not more than the military. Some reasons for minimum wage raising is, The fact that the cost of living is higher means people can’t survive with minimum wage without federal care, And just helping people get back on their feet when they couldn’t find a job. The reasons Minimum wage shouldn’t be raised outweigh the reasons it should.
The cons however, are not worth the pros. The lower wage worker is usually working because he or she needs employment to survive (as do most of us). Because there are not many opportunities, the lower wage worker usually has more stress to try to make ends meet. Because they are paid less, they spend less and do not help stimulate the economy. They usually qualify for public assistance, which can drain the economy.
In conclusion, a federal minimum wage increase will significantly improve the standard of living of low-wage workers. To meet their basic needs, workers must be given a living wage. It is not only morally correct to do so, but also beneficiary to both ends. The increase in wages allows for a more supportable income, but it also stimulates the economy.
There are a lot of potential benefits for an increase in minimum wage and on the surface it’s hard to see why you wouldn’t want to increase the wage. One of the clearest to see is that an increase to the minimum wage will also increase the spending for each household during the following years. So it works to help stimulate the economy in whatever area you increase the minimum wage. Along those same lines increasing the minimum wage will lead to a decrease in poverty as well. With the decrease in poverty you will also see a decrease in government spending on welfare items because the individuals receiving the higher wage in theory will be able to pay for these services/welfare items without assistance.
By minimum wage people would have a higher standard of living and a easier way of life. This will then help the economy and jobs in the
Minimum wage helpful or disastrous for Americans Did you know that millions of minimum wage workers cannot make enough money to be over or at the poverty line level and are actually a lot more below it instead? There have been many issues on the topic of increasing the minimum wage from ten to fifteen dollars because it can cause inexperienced workers having a tough time getting or looking for jobs, families not being able to live on the minimum wage the way it stands now, and businesses not being able to create more jobs to hire more workers. For instance, an author named David Neumark believes that the effects of the minimum wage have a major issue that increasing minimum wage can reduce the numbers of jobs and pretty much screw over workers
The main “common sense” argument is that by imposing minimum wages, one artificially raises the price of labour way from its “market-clearing” level and higher unemployment results-and the first to lose their jobs will be the least-skilled workers (city press;2014/11/25). The national minimum wage is a step towards an alternative growth path, in other words wages must be set to target productivity and efficiency. But it must be accompanied by other alternatives; such as industrial policy that sees that South Africa create jobs in sectors that can sustain moderately higher wages, and grow sectors that can benefit from, and contribute to, increased domestic demand (city press;2014/11/25).