Minimum Wage Minimum wage is an economic principle that ensures individuals can maintain a minimum quality of life. Minimum wage is a basic government-imposed price control. Workers’ concept of low-wage work is shaped by a number of sociopolitical factors—documentation status, race, gender, geographic location, education level, and previous employment (Kahle 2013). Price controls set a floor indicating what minimum price must be paid for certain goods or services. Governments set price controls to ensure individuals receive a fair wage at various jobs (Vitez 2012.). Neoclassical economic theory predicts what will happen to minimum wages in an economy on an employee and employer level. The market of labor is subject to supply and demand just …show more content…
Minimum wage is grounded in the view that if a worker and employee agree on a wage then this wage level must be welfare maximizing for both them and by definition for society. The only thing a government regulated price for labor can do is distort labor markets and lead to less, not more economic welfare (Atkinson 2013). The impact of minimum wage depends on the employees’ skills and experience. Highly skilled workers are not affected because their wages are above equilibrium minimum which makes these workers minimum wage not binding. Minimum wages result in unemployment because the number of employees seeking employment is exceeding the number of employees organizations are wanting to hire. For example, teenage workers with increased minimum wages results in less job opportunities for other teenagers who drop out and decided to join the workforce ;minimum wage alters the minimum demanded and minimum supplied. Increasing the minimum wage will decrease the need of workers in the market because employers will have to cut costs to pay the new minimum …show more content…
The neoclassical theory suggests that an increase in minimum wage would decrease welfare not maximizing the issue. But through the supply and demand graph it shows the exact opposite. If the minimum wage were to increase for low-wage workers then the number of positions available causing unemployment. Employers would have to alter their demand to what they can afford because now they have to adhere to the demands of the government’s regulation on increasing the minimum wage. Highly skilled workers would not be affected in this scenario because they are paid above the minimum wage. The market is largely affected by minimum wage requirements for low-wage workers and there needs to be a balance of what is supplied and demanded in order to maintain the same level of functionality in the
If they raised the price than the people who make minimum would have to make more money so they would have to work two jobs making they spend less time with friends and family. Raising minimum wage would do absolutely nothing because it 's like if you had 2 dollars and something cost 4 you work a week get 20 dollars and then have 22 you can buy it but then the price raises to 26 dollars and so on. Finally people suggest the fact that even if you raise minimum wage than not all people would still want a job and it would be harder to find a job making the poor population either rise because of people getting fired or get better because of people finding
Raising the minimum wage has been one of the biggest debates during the 21st century. One side of the spectrum argues that raising it will make it so they have a living wage, while the other argues that raising it will hurt the economy. Whichever the case is, people are clearly divided on this issue. Before Oregon passed the 15 dollar minimum wage law, people wrote arguments to try to either prevent or pass this law. The article, “How a $15 minimum wage would affect a real business: Guest opinion” by Lee Spector argues that raising the minimum wage would hurt small businesses like the one he earns.
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
According to William Dunkelberg, a writer for Forbes magazine, by raising minimum wage there could become less jobs than before. Though the people who have jobs would be making more money, smaller companies wouldn’t be able to pay for their employee’s, and would have to let people go. “Small businesses stay in business
Since the election and reelection of President Barack Obama the increase in minimum wage has been a major topic for the United States. His proposal to increase minimum wage has sparked a lot of controversy with some Americans. Many believing that increasing minimum wage will have a negative impact on our economy and even our educational system. They argue that increasing minimum wages will harm the very people it was intended to help because it will increase housing cost as well as the price of consumer goods. They argue that it will decrease the high school enrollment rates at the same time increase dropout rates.
Minimum wage would raise the wages of many workers and increment benefits what disadvantaged workers. An estimated 6.9 million workers would receive an incrementation in their hourly wage if the minimum rage were raised to $10.15 by 2015. Due to the spill over effect the 10.5 million workers earning up to a dollar above minimum wage would withal be liable to benefit from an incrementation. Women are the most astronomically immense group of beneficiaries from a minimum wage increase. Sixty percent of workers who would benefit from an incrementation are women.
The point is that, with the increase of the minimum wage, firms that face higher costs cannot maintain profits simply by raising prices regardless of demand for their products. While the increase of the minimum wage will increase demand for those products purchased by low-income people, it will not yield an equal increase in demand for all
A minimum wage increase from “$7.25 to $10.10 would result in a loss of 500,000 jobs”. ("The Effects of Minimum-Wage Increase on Employment and Family Income”) This claim is better because it shows how raising the minimum wage will decrease job growth instead of increasing it. But, the minimum wage should be increased because increasing will also increase economic activity and spur job growth, decrease poverty, and improvements in productivity and economic growth have outpaced increases in the minimum
Because taking into account negative employment effects and increases in consumer prices induced by the minimum wage would wipe out any positive direct effects on household affected by the minimum wage. The minimum wage becomes even less effective in reducing income inequality when negative employment effects are taken into account. I will address the negative effects in sociological aspects by the
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.
If America raises the minimum wage to $9.00, it will help people in need or in poverty, but it also won’t hurt people in the workforce. If you increase the minimum wage to $15.00 it will make unemployment rates go high up. Which in the process, makes the homelessness rates go up in the country and in your community. If you keep the minimum wage at $7.25 people will stay in poverty and homeless or on the verge of homelessness.
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.
Going along with the positive economic growth is the idea that if minimum wage is increased, and these workers turn around and spend this additional income, sales will increase to the point that businesses will need to employ extra workers. In other words, increasing the wages for minimum wage positions will create more minimum wage
In the past three years, many politicians and labor unions have been pushing for an increase in minimum wage. Minimum wage is the lowest set wage by a law of a government body. An increase in minimum will benefit some people, and hurt others. An increase in minimum wage will cause benefit in the short run but will be very damaging to the economy in the long run. There should not be an increase in minimum wage because it is unhealthy to the economy in the long run and it will be the major cause of job loss, increase in inflation, competition, and the price level of goods and services.
1. Introduction In the modest term, a minimum wage is a lawfully authorized minor bound for wages, but the term “lawfully authorised” is unclear, leading too many different kinds of minimum wages institutions (Cunningham et al, 2007:19). It further states that in the most straight forward cases, such as Brazil and Bolivia, the federal government identifies a wage level and all employers in the country must pay at that level or above it (2007:19). Economist have tended to oppose minimum wage on the grounds that they reduce employment , hurting many of those they are supposed to help (the economist:24/11/2012).