Minimum Wage Debate Analysis

After reading two articles by Saltsman and Surowiecki debating changes involving pay, the government should not raise the minimum wage. Saltsman states most people who work for minimum wage do not actually live under the poverty line. Therefore, spiking up the minimum wage will do little for those working for low wages. However, Surowiecki says that those working for minimum wage have changed from the traditional teenager to the breadwinner of the household. Saltsman explains this problem when he says that most people working for minimum wage do not live by themselves; thus families in this situation live off of more than just one income. Furthermore, he says that 28 states raised their minimum wage for four years and found no reductions in poverty.

Saltsman goes on to say that those who actually live in poverty need to find a job to help their situation before Congress touch the minimum wage. Raising the minimum wage will only increase the prices of everyday goods, especially since big corporations, such as McDonald’s, want to keep their profit margins large. On the other hand, Surowiecki explains that higher minimum wage remains only half of the problem; he suggests that Congress must expand earned-income tax credit and strengthen child and health care systems. In contrast, Saltsman refutes this statement when mentioning that unskilled workers will lose their jobs if the minimum wage is raised because their job will go to higher educated