This article was written by Thomas E. Perez, a democratic politician and the former secretary of the United States Department of Labor. He is a proud supporter of raising the minimum wage and his political party has nothing to do with his beliefs in this topic. President Donald Trump, is a republican and during his campaign he expressed the importance of raising minimum wage. In this article, Perez starts off by stating his opinion, “I don 't think a country as great as ours should pay people so little that they need help from the state just to survive.” He automatically sets the mood and lets the reader know what it is that he will be expressing throughout his article. Throughout the article, Thomas gives a little background about minimum wage.
The law on minimum wage has become very consequential and has came to light to employees whom are required to work the current wage. The state of Texas has had the same minimum wage since 2009 which it is currently $7.25. It has been numerous complaints throughout the state about the minimum wage in Texas. Employees main concern is that they are simply getting underpaid for their work. Compared to other states the minimum wage Texas seems to have fallen very far behind.
In the article, “Minimum Wage Hikes Hurt Low-Income Workers,” Jame Sherk debates how an increase in the minimum wage would impact workers and corporations. Sherk builds his argument by first explaining the recent history of an increasing minimum wage and how much it has risen. Following, he argues why it would hurt businesses and low-income workers. Lastly, after illustrating the consequences, he offers statistical evidence to support his claim and to prove to the reader why the hike would only hurt both businesses and low-income workers. Sherk’s use of evidence and explanation offers a strong argument and a clear stance. Also, because of his use of evidence, Sherk offers an effective argument based on the structure and the strength of his
Is the federal minimum wage good enough for the economy? “The supporters believe that the minimum wage helps reduce unemployment and alleviate the effects of poverty by putting more money in the hands of workers and increasing their ability to afford basic costs of living, like housing and food. Meanwhile, the opponents believe that the minimum wage increases unemployment among low-income workers” (Federal Minimum Wage 1). I believe that federal minimum wage is definitely not good enough for the economy. In the state of Missouri minimum wage is $7.65; people have bills such as rent, car payments, insurance, electric, etc. many people can not live off of that and it is because it is not enough. Minimum wage is very difficult to live off and
those who are responsible for the poverty many Americans live. The government must determine how much to increase the minimum wage; if they decide to increase it at all. Leading the struggle for increased minimum wages are the fast food workers of America, each with their own personal stories of struggle and reasons they must depend on a food service job, paying these meager wages, to provide for their family. As David Neumark states, “Since its enactment, there has been widespread debate about the merits of minimum wage laws, along with numerous efforts to evaluate their economic effects” (55). I seek to show the value of a significant minimum wage increase and the effects it will have, not only on fast food worker’s lives, but the good it could have on the US economy. Although there are those out there that would argue that the minimum wage increase would cause more damage to our economy; I believe
Minimum wage is a constant conversation in America. The current state of this controversial conversion in America is raising the current minimum wage, which are 7.25. As of today, 1.7 million Americans are living off minimum wage every year. These people are all living under the poverty line. The standard cost of living in America is $58,627. Too out of these 1.7 million Americans on minimum wage, only 21% of this number are teenagers, that leaves 79% being adults with families. Minimum wage should be raised because: some people could better support their family with more income, the economy could experience a boost , the quality of line could mean better workers, workers government program like social security food stamps and other government programs can be reduced and lastly taxes can lowered.
The discussion about a federal minimum wage was around since the concept of it emerged. The meaning of concept of a federal minimum wage is in its name. It is the lowest daily or monthly remuneration that employers may legally pay to workers. According to United States Department of Labor the first attempt to set a federal minimum wage was in 1933 and it equaled to twenty five cents per hour ($4.23 in 2015). However, in 1935 United States Supreme Court abolished the federal minimum wage. The federal minimum wage was reestablished in 1938 due to the Fair Labor Standards Act. It remained unchanged for seventeen years and in 1955 increased to one dollar per hour. After that the federal minimum wage gradually changed and became two dollars thirty
If you have minimum skills, Minimum education, show minimum Motivation, and provide a minimum contribution to the workplace you are going to earn a minimum wage. There are many more opportunity if the federal government did not intervene. The abolishment of the minimum wage can help the economy and add a surplus of jobs.
Americans below the poverty line are demanding for increased pay in their minimum wage jobs. Although with the increase to fifteen dollars an hour, many Americans would be left jobless pushing them farther under the poverty line increasing the wage by over half would harm the country’s economy more than improve it. Minimum wage workers want higher wages for the work they provide, but inflation, unemployment, and businesses closing will only cause more issues for Americans.
Raising minimum wage has always had a debate amongst people. There has always been a controversy of doing so has or not, how ever there is always some advantages and disadvantages in such topics as such. According to some studies from 2013, research shows that raising minimum wage could in fact increase job growth and activity. This research was based on the wages of $7.25ph increasing to $10.10ph and if it was done so, it would point 22.1 billion dollars net into economy and produce 85,000 if not more jobs in a period of 3 years. Studies also show that raising minimum wage would reduce poverty, a $10.10 minimum wage could save up to 900,000 people out of poverty (Congressional Budget Office). Raising minimum wage could indeed also reduce welfare spending. It is said that if low income workers were to earn more money, they would no longer depend on the government for help, which also means that food stamps would reduce their spending by 4.6 billion dollars and 1.7 billion americans would not depemd on the government. (Center Of American Progress)
Raising the minimum wage by just about $2, would bring 4.6 million people out from under the poverty line (The Case for a Higher Minimum Wage 2). There is no question that a person cannot support themselves on the $7.25 national minimum wage; unless you buy the bare bones package. A higher minimum wage would boost the economy and save taxpayers millions of dollars. The problem with all of this information available about increasing minimum wage is that they have a flimsy foundation; the intent is good but the methods and results are untrustworthy. If the United States were to raise the national minimum wage to a livable wage, it would have to be a slow incline and not all at once.
In the 1800s, America went through the Industrial Revolution. A push for laws to protect workers erupted due to dangerous working conditions. Soon after in the 1890s, Australia and New Zealand became the first countries to mount national minimum wage laws. The United States set forth its minimum wage laws in 1938 (Grossman). These laws were passed by President Roosevelt in the Fair Labor Standards Act, which set a minimum wage of twenty five cents per hour and established a 44 hour workweek (Is federal minimum). The FLSA was signed because Roosevelt believed “all but the hopeless reactionary will agree that...government must have some some control over maximum hours, minimum wages.” Minimum wage is defined as the lowest hourly rate at which most employers may legally pay their workers. Raising the minimum wage has always been a controversial part of politics. One main question that politicians face is whether raising minimum wage helps the economy or not. Raising the minimum wage would help expand the economy because it puts more money in the hands of the consumer, it can reduce poverty rates and gets rid of income inequality as well.
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. His viewpoint is the minority of those in his status as a highly successful businessman, as when businessmen are questioned about raising the minimum wage, they mostly argue for the opposition. Their arguments usually state how their businesses will suffer; such as the fact they will be losing money due to the increase they’re being forced to pay workers. This most likely won’t be the case because money is forever changing hands and giving more money to minimum
In the past years there’s been a massive debate over the issue of increasing or decreasing minimum wage to workers in the United States. Minimum wage was first created in 1938 to help the living of lower class citizens in America. The law was formed to assure the citizens could afford necessities and basic living cost. Modifying minimum is such a challenging topic because it could have an enormous effect on numerous of people in the United States. The United States minimum wage stands at 7.25 per hour. In order to decide what’s best for the country every citizen will have to understand the benefits and risks when raising or reducing minimum wage.
Minimum Wage was first enacted in 1938 during the Great Depression under Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It was initially set at $0.25 per hour, but today it is set at $7.25 an hour. In politics today, deciphering whether or not to increase the minimum wage is among one of the top controversial topics discussed. In this article, ProCon writes about the many different advantages as well as the disadvantages of increasing the minimum wage. Some of the arguments for raising the minimum wage that people tend to make are that it would increase economic activity and spur job growth, reduce poverty, and also would allow people to afford everyday essentials. On the flip side of the argument, ProCon writes that some of the disadvantages of raising the minimum wage would be that it would raise