The poverty levels in America are a major problem. The cost of things like rent and education have risen dramatically in the recent years, making it difficult not only to live, but also to become a skilled worker with a lot to offer companies. Unfortunately, minimum wage has not kept up with rapidly rising prices. People working on minimum wage cannot support themselves, much less a family. Many think that the problem can be easily solved with a raise in federal minimum wage, but those people fail to understand the many trade-offs that would accompany. Not only would a minimum wage raise to 15$ have a major effect on employers costs and the cost of goods, but it would also cause a major rise in unemployment(Gitis and Holtz-Eakin). A raise in minimum wage would not only fail to move the lower class out of poverty, but would have adverse effects on the majority of them. Employers do not have an unlimited amount of money at their disposal. They have to run their business so that their aggregate profits exceed their aggregate costs(ALEC). If they do not do this, they will not be able to continue to operate. Employees fall into this cost group. Employers can only pay what they can afford. Therefor, if minimum wage rises, there will be trade offs. These will include price escalations and layoffs, along with cuts in hours available to workers who do stay employed(ALEC). More than 50% of people working at minimum wage work for small companies with fewer than 100 employees(ALEC). Because of price competition between small and large businesses, these companies would not be able to raise prices enough to cover extra costs. They would either need to downsize or shut down due to the lack of money(ALEC). Not only would this wage increase hurt low wage workers, it would also greatly affect small business owners who could no longer afford to pay their employees. People making minimum wage typically fall into two categories: the young and the uneducated. These groups would be the first to go when jobs were cut(Gitis and Holtz-Eakin). Raising the price of workers would cause the demand for them to decrease, while the supply would be unchanged or greater(ALEC). A study by Gitis and Holtz-Eakin found that a raise in
There are a lot of people around the world who struggle with money and a satisfactory way of life. Whether they be in the United States or across the globe, there is a standard minimum wage set for the working class of their country. In the Unites States, there is a federal minimum wage of seven dollars and twenty five cents per hour worked. Almost every state has another set minimum wage, which typically is a little higher than the federal minimum wage, but it cannot be lower than seven dollars and twenty five cents. Countries set minimum wage laws, to ensure there is a basic quality of life amongst its citizens. As the minimum wage goes up in certain states, the quality of life also improves. The problem with a higher minimum wage, is now people are getting paid higher for entry level jobs which are meant for teenagers and people new to the workforce. If the minimum wage keeps increasing across the country, teenagers and young adults will have a much more difficult time finding jobs.
The people that would take the biggest blow are the stake holders of large corporate companies that would have to raise the cost of employee wages if the minimum wage were to be raised. If a corporation with 10,000 employees working forty hours a week had to give their employees a fifty cent raise, they would lose over ten million dollars a year. Now I do not know about you, but if I had a company and I was about to lose ten million dollars a year I would be trying to compensate for it. Wilson (1999), states that if the federal minimum wage were to be raised companies might respond in such a way that may cost employees their fringe benefits. They would lose hours, medical benefits, yearly bonuses and merit based raises.
Raising the minimum wage would hurt the less fortunate families. It spreads income unevenly. Some people would receive more pay and others would lose their jobs making families and the economy suffer. If someone have a minimum wage job that pays $5.15 it is better than no job at $6.00 (Henderson). If someone has a job that does not pay well be thankful for it, it still provides for the
When the minimum wage goes up, money will get shuffled back into the economy once the lowest earners can invest. “It also would help the economy by supporting consumer spending that in turn supports job growth” (Source 1). Once the lower class starts to earn more they become capable of consuming more, so in the long run it would benefit employer. Although some may argue that a higher minimum wage would hurt employers, it would not due to a gradual change. Also, more consumption of products creates more jobs which helps the economy and the general
It is a popular opinion that increasing the minimum wage would reduce income inequality by the process that an increase would have a ripple effect, raising the incomes of people who make slightly above the minimum wage, and then slightly above that and so on and so on, thus changing the distribution of wealth within society. As a result, a minimum wage increase would help reduce gender and race inequality, since a greater representation of women and minorities work in the low-income labor force. Minimum wage advocates maintain that the current minimum wage is not high enough to enable people to afford housing and everyday essentials. They believe raising the minimum wage would combat poverty and lead to a healthier population. Improving the level of poverty in the United States would increase school attendance, and decrease crime and high school dropout rates. Finally, defenders of the minimum wage argue that the minimum wage helps to reduce the federal deficit. Raising the minimum wage would reduce the federal budget deficit by increasing tax revenue and lowering government spending on public aid programs. Payroll and income tax revenues would rise as a result of an increase in the minimum wage, and the federal deficit
In today's society it's expensive to live in America and even getting day by day is very difficult if you are living on minimum wage, of course it's more difficult for some people than others depending on their situation and their living conditions. America should raise minimum wage because it would make things easier for people who are struggling. A higher minimum wage not only increases workers’ incomes, it will also be good for our economy. A quarter of people working minimum wage are at least raising one child. This change will help a lot of people it would make our country a better place.
Raising the minimum wage can hurt many people in different aspects of business. Increasing the minimum wage will cause businesses to lay off employees. Matt Zwolinski stated “By increasing the cost of labor, they reduce the demand for it” (3). This essentially means that those who are increasing the minimum wage are also creating unemployment. The increase in lay offs causes the unemployment rate to skyrocket (“Should” 1). Joseph Sabia and Richard Burkhauser estimated that about 1.3 million jobs would be eliminated if the federal minimum wage was increased to $9.50 per hour (“Four” 1). Raising the minimum wage would cause many small, local shops to close their doors. Even many big fast food companies would have to close their doors because they would not be able to pay their employees (“Should” 2). Seattle, being the first US city to raise the minimum wage, has received a lot of attention. A study found that there were many jobs lost due to this wage
There will be inflation or rising costs for basic necessities such as housing, food, utilities, transportation and child care. Because of inflation, the minimum wage forces most of the people into poverty. If a person works full-time and his minimum wage is only $14500, and if he has two children this income is more than $4000 below the poverty line. So, increasing the minimum wage would rise almost a million people above the poverty line. But if minimum wages increases, it would result in the loss of jobs because employers would lay off workers to offset the additional labor cost. But, raising the minimum wage has multiple benefits. As an increase to minimum wage moves families above the poverty threshold, their need for public assistance
Jobs will be lost if the minimum wage increases. Employers won’t pay employees more than their worth. If the minimum wage was, let’s say, $15 per hour, employers
The words “raising minimum wage” typically strikes fear into the average person because they can’t imagine a high schooler making more than 10 dollars an hour. However, they’re missing a crucial key word to this plan – minimum. Yes, that guy that messed up your burger at McDonalds would be making 12 to 15 dollars an hour. But that doesn’t mean that you also will, or that your mother, father, sister, what have you, will be making that same amount. By raising the minimum of something, you also raise everything above it by proxy. Someone who makes 15 dollars an hour will be making up to 23 dollars an hour or more. This change would, of course, happen gradually, so our economy has time to
If the minimum wage were to go up, people would not have a reason to improve their education. This would bring the lower-class and middle-class together, creating a bigger gap between the upper-class, and that of the average U.S. citizen. The average upper-class family makes roughly 70 times the average income of a lower-class family (Fry). According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, right now only 3.3 percent of hourly paid workers are paid minimum wage. Raising the minimum wage will greatly increase the percent of people who are paid minimum wage. The amount of workers who would need to further their education to get a good job will decline. The average pay for workers who only have a high school diploma of less is $14.64 (Earnings). Increasing the minimum wage will nearly eliminate the lower half of the average. Therefore, this will make it so people will not have to attend college to get a job to satisfy their wants. People need to go
Raising the minimum wage would cause chaos throughout the work field with higher class workers. All the workers would be in a panic. Rushing to get a job, or struggling to keep theirs. One researcher reveals that “Raising the minimum wage will make lower-end jobs more attractive to people with greater education and skills who may not have considered them before at a lower pay scale. Those better-skilled and educated workers will outcompete unskilled workers for jobs, further worsening the poverty of the least-skilled workers and forcing them out of the labor pool” (Reisman). Based upon this research, Reisman states “making lower-end jobs more attractive” and yes this is common sense, would a worker prefer work an easy fast food job for 15$
As published by Alison Doyle in “Pros and Cons of Raising the Minimum Wage”, “An increase in the minimum wage raises the standard of living for impoverished workers.” Furthermore, workers that make more than the minimum wage are also effected due in part to the ripple effect, which means that the rise of the minimum wage positively effects higher wage brackets. Katie Lobosco of CNN Money said in the article, Minimum wage hike could mean a raise for all, “As a result, the Economic Policy Institute estimates about 4.6 million workers will see their wages increased, 2.6 million of whom are directly affected as the new minimum wage exceeds their current hourly pay. The other 2 million already make slightly more than the new minimum wage but will benefit from the ripple effect. “ Employers will give valuable employees more money to stay competitive and retain those with valuable skills. people will not want to take job positions where they make almost the same amount as their subordinates. With everyone seeming getting more money the economy could flourish. Alison Doyle painted a great scenario in her article where “Additional income would be spent by consumers and would ripple through the economy if overall budgets for salary were increased under a gradual increase in the minimum wage scenario and Government expenses for social programs aimed at the poor would be reduced causing slightly lower taxes for other
Raising minimum wage forces business owners to reduce the number of jobs for the unskilled younger workers.This would be a problem due to the unskilled workers not getting the experience they need to advance up the ladder in that business. Also, It would be harder for these unskilled workers to find minimum wage jobs to get them the necessary skills they need to find a better paying job: “Raising the minimum wage reduces many workers’ job opportunities and working hours” (Sherk). Obviously it would benefit some of the workers, but the majority of the people it would benefit are the ones with work experience. “The higher the minimum wage is raised, the worse the effects on poor people” (Gould). Many business owners won’t have extra money to pay their employees, thus leading the business to fire the least skilled workers. This especially applies to small businesses that would go out of business if there was an increase in minimum wage. Ultimately it will come
First the employers used different tactics to maintain in business when there is an increase in minimum wage. Since labor cost increases, employers decrease raises to employees that earn more than minimum wage. Employers may also reduce their labor force by firing low skill employees and keeping the high skill workers. Other employers may make adjustments like reducing workers hours, or reducing benefits and trainings. Small businesses are highly affected by minimum wage they often push their profit as low as they can to keep in business and to cover their expenses. At the same time large corporations are also affected because their shareholders pressure them to keep the costs low.