The federal minimum wage has long been a topic of controversy in U.S. domestic policy. In fact it’s been in contention since its inception. The U.S. followed the models lead by Australia and New Zealand, which established the world’s first minimum wage policies in the 1890s. The Progressive faction here at home introduced the idea of a U.S. minimum wage; their argument was that a wage should be sufficient enough to support a common worker's necessities. This resonates just as arguments used today, and proponents even go further in prospects of increasing the Federal minimum wage. Advocates for raising the U.S. Federal minimum wage such as presidential candidate in the 2016 election Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders ran on a platform that coincided …show more content…
Later came the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), which was approved by Congress and authorized by President Roosevelt in 1933; this was the first legislation that attempted to introduce a federal minimum wage. However, this wouldn’t last long as the (NIRA) was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1935 it was judged as an "unconstitutional delegation of legislative power." In spring of 1937 the constitutionality of state minimum wage laws was again to be deliberated in the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court would over turn its previous anti-minimum wage ruling in favor of a federal minimum wage. This was an immense accomplishment for the progressives of this …show more content…
This is especially true due to the devaluation of the U.S. dollar in the last couple decades, which has left people in far worse financial distress then previous generations have had to contend with. Advocates claim that an increase in the federal minimum wage will actually boost job creation and growth in the U.S. economy by providing the common people with more spending allowances thus stimulating the economy. Supports further contend that the deteriorating value of the minimum wage is one of the main sources of income inequality between low and mid range employees; and that a majority of Americans, incorporating a thin margin of self proclaimed conservatives actually are in support of increasing the minimum
The solution to the minimum-wage problem that haunts American workers in the 21st century is to strive for lower everyday expenses rather than for a higher minimum wage. The renowned author Barbara Ehrenreich, in her informational novel Nickel and Dimed, tells the story of how she performed a social experiment by working several minimum wage jobs, while living a lifestyle of a low-wage worker. In her novel, Ehrenreich concludes that minimum wage workers “in good health” can “barely support [themselves]” (199). Even though Ehrenreich earned “$1039 in one month,” at the end of the month she only had “$22 left over” as she had to spend “$517” on food and gas, and “$500” to pay her rent (197). As evident, Ehrenreich’s wage is not the cause of her
In theory, raising the minimum wage would lessen America’s dependence on such benefits. If workers are making more money, Hanauer says that workers are spending more, and increasing the demand for more workers as opposed to cutting jobs. Hanauer closes his essay by telling the reader to see the economy as Henry Ford did; an effective economy is one that works for all not just part of the country. ANALYSIS: After reading Nicolas Hanauer’s essay on raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, I take an affirmative stance on this issue. The main reason for siding with Hanauer is that he is thinking about how many people can get an upper hand with a wage increase.
B. What the Workplace Action for a Growing Economy (WAGE) Act is Up Against a. The Past Failures to Amend the NLRA The WAGE Act is not the first attempt to amend the NLRA and strengthen it in favor of employees, however, if passed the WAGE Act would be the first one to succeed. While amendments to the NLRA both for and against the rights of workers and employers have largely been unsuccessful, the overwhelming trend is for Congress to pass those amendments that weaken employee protection and strengthen employer protection.
On average a worker would make a few dollars a week, which lead a factory worker from Texas to write President Roosevelt, “ I can’t see for my life President why a man must toil & work his life out in Such factories 10 long hours ever day except Sunday for a small sum of 15 cents to 35 cents per hour & pay the high cost of honest & deason living expences,” (pg 171). This reality of people working for nothing needed to come to a conclusion. In order for the people to receive a higher hourly wage the government needs to implement a law that dictates the minimum amount of money a worker gets paid hourly. This amount needs to be determined based on the cost of living, and in order to prevent people from working for little to nothing in the future it needs to fluctuate with the cost of living. Owners of factories and other business will be upset and not follow the law, and that is why the government will need to be strict and enforce this minimum wage law.
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.
The topic of minimum wage is one that can lead to heated debates from both sides of the aisle over how much a person should be getting in payment versus how much work they do, or how hard they work to earn the payment. Countless people today are not getting paid the amount they should be based off of the work that they are putting in to their job. There are arguments leaning towards the raising of minimum wage, and there are arguments leaning against the raising of the minimum wage, however one of the arguments I find persuasive. There are some arguments that lean towards the raising of the minimum wage. The first argument presented involves job creation in the United States.
The federal minimum wage has been increased twenty-two times since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the bill into law in 1938. President Roosevelt was an avid supporter of a federal minimum wage as he says that “no business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country.” Raising the federal minimum wage has many pros and cons, but is a necessity to thrive in society. People have argued that raising the minimum wage will cause inflation, but it will create various economical benefits, income benefits, production benefits, and improve racial justice.
Throughout the years the United States’ economy has had to overcome many obstacles to get to where it is today, through good times and bad. One of the major topics that have been discussed for over the past decade is raising the federal minimum wage. This specific topic has been debated all up through presidential debates and congress meetings to where even voters are influencing their governor votes on rather if they will fight for raising the federal minimum wage or not. The desire to increase the federal minimum wage has been gaining momentum throughout the years “as a way to alleviate rising wage and income inequality”, especially within this past presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump (Neumark). Many states have already raised the minimum wage by their choice, but doing this to the rest of the country through law
“How does minimum wage affect a society” Minimum wage has been a topic of debate for many years. Some argue that it should be increased to help workers earn a living wage, while others believe that it will raise prices for consumers. With the cost of living increasing, many people are struggling to make ends meet on today's minimum wage. In this essay, I will provide information about the history of minimum wage, its current state, the implications of minimum wage policies, and their impact on society. Andrew Carnegie co-founded his first steel company in the early 1870s in the Pittsburgh area.
We find no evidence that minimum wage increases between 2003 and 2007 affected overall state poverty rates. ”(Leigh, A. (2007) Proposals to increase the minimum wage are politically popular because they are widely seen as an effective way to help the working poor. In spite of it, state and federal minimum wage increases between 2003 and 2007 had no effect on reducing the poverty rates. “Minimum wage increases have thus far provided little more than symbolic support to the working poor.”
The people who are against the increase of minimum wage often argues that it will harm young adolescents the most, and that they will need the experience of working at the minimum wage. It is significantly unfair with other states, such as California and Massachusetts. The minimum wage for these states gives other states a disadvantage in the economy. I feel that every state should have the same price range of minimum wage just to make every state feel that they are equally the same without any disadvantages. Raising the minimum wage is something that should’ve been done a long time ago.
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.
Introduction Minimum wage is the lowest hourly rate an employer can pay an employee for hours worked. The topic of raising the minimum wage is a sensitive issue for many people. The livelihood of many relevant stakeholders will be directly effected by policies created in regards to raising minimum wage, both positively and negatively. This paper will examine the history and current state of minimum wage. It will identify the issues connected to raising minimum wage, analyze the arguments for and against, and make recommendations based on the analysis.
America today is faced with its fair share of problems. There are low employment rates, debt, and inflation everywhere, riddling the economy with issues. There is absolutely no reason that any American citizen should want to pile upon the problem. Yet, some believe that it could be done by raising the federal minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour. Fortunately, history, economics, and common sense prove the minimum wage raise proposition wrong.