Narin Gopaul Professor Flanagan Enc1101 8/4/2013 It 's the year 2014, and we are in the state of the financial crisis which is still being felt across the nation by the majority of Americans. Many Americans who have worked on minimum wages are struggling to live on a salary that is below the poverty threshold. In 2012, the U.S census posted that in a family of three; their income is 18,552, (U.S Census). In most case, one member of the family is working on a minimum wage salary which is below 18,552, (U.S. Dept. of Labor). It has been almost a five years since congress has raised the minimum wage (Huff Post). Throughout my argument, I will share my thoughts as wells as facts on why congress should agree to raise the minimum wage. We …show more content…
Inflation has also been one of the signature conflicts of raising the minimum wage. In the past 5 to six years, the inflations levels have been at 1.5 percent (CNN money). By raising the minimum wage, should not increase inflation but help it maintain its current state. When adjusted for inflation, the current federal minimum wage would need to be more than $8 per hour to equal its purchasing power of the early 1980s and more nearly $11 per hour to equal its buying power of the late 1960s (U.S dept. Labor). That 's why President Obama is urging Congress to increase the federal minimum wage and give low-wage workers a much-needed boost. When it comes to raising the minimum wage, it 's an essential (U.S dept. Labour)ingredient in entering a stable economic society. Congress must raise to the challenge or face the consequences of a declining economy. With more than 70 percent of working class people working on minimum wages, the economy will surely benefit from giving them an increase. If they refuse to make an advancement towards the situation; we will make it very difficult for our future generations to raise out poverty. Help the working class people of American and pave a brighter road to our future economy. Lift the spirits of the American by giving them a raise. The cry of millions of American citizens living in poverty is most important to the economy. Whereas, raising
With the presidential elections right around the corner policy on minimum wage has come up for debate once again. William Hoar from The New American argues in his article “Misguided minimum wage mandate” that raising the minimum wage will only result in loss of jobs. According to the editorial board at USA Today, “ inflation adjusted income of the top 1 percent has grown by 58 percent and the remaining 99 percent has only grown by 6.4 percent”. They then state that a raise to 15 dollars an hour only comes out to an annual income of 30,000 a year. It is true that the majority of the minimum wage workforce is from ages 18 to 25 but considering the fact that that age group are the people attending college and paying off student loans, then it should be expected that they are unhappy with such a low salary. At the minimum wage of 7.25 that comes out to 1200 dollars per month for the cost of living. Therefore raising the minimum wage will not only increase morale, it will also reduce rates of poverty.
The minimum wage debate has been a hot topic over the past year, especially with the Presidential Election. This is a divisive topic that people rarely agree upon. There are essentially two sides you can take when it comes to this argument. Either people are for minimum wage or are against raising, or even having, a minimum wage. Proponents of the minimum wage are typically politicians who are lobbying for the vote of the people who feel that a minimum wage is critical to their wellbeing, and those who sympathize with people who earn “minimum wage”. Minimum wage is destroying America’s free market economy and someone needs to take action and find a better solution to this problem. Without anyone acting on this problem now, it can potentially be worse in the long run. Raising the minimum wage in the United States will do more harm than good to society because of the long-term effects.
Raising minimum wages is a contestable issue because it is debated in wide and varied audiences. Minimum wage is near the top of economists’ interest; they are looking for the connection between low wages and poor job markets. Each country sets its own laws and regulations regarding wages. For this reason, it has significant importance to policy makers and workers in each of those respective countries. Social activists have also found interest in the topic due to the fact that those who earn a minimum wage tend to come from poor minority families. Furthermore, the average American should have the strongest interest in the conversation because most citizens have been paid a minimum wage at some point in their life. Due to this fact, the idea of a significant federal minimum wage increase in America is open for debate specifically to rejuvenate the job industry, improve living conditions for citizens, and strengthen the economy as a whole.
The current minimum wage is $7.25, which equals two gallons of milk, one fast food meal or two gallons of gas. Can you imagine yourself working 12-hours a day and only having enough money to pay for rent and put food on the table for your family? With working all those long hours, you can barely afford to pay your utility bills and after that you don’t have enough money or time for luxuries like clothing or vacation. You have no savings as matter of fact, you are in a huge debt and you are living paycheck to paycheck. This is the story of millions of American worker, who are employed on minimum wage. The shocking part about this story is that million of Americans would be saved from this poverty life, if the American government raises the minimum wage. This would not only help the workers, but also the economy because raising the minimum wage would put extra money in the pocket of minimum wage worker and extra spending would help restore consumer spending.
On July 24th, 2009, the United States of America raised the minimum wage to $7.25. However, six years later the minimum wage rage remains the same. It is time once again for the federal government to raise the minimum wage to spur the economy. Raising the minimum wage would help the American economy and the daily life of the citizens for a variety of reasons. The first topic is that it not only would help the people but it also would help the economy as a whole. The second topic is that companies are already raising the minimum wage because of the lack of money workers get. Finally the third supporting idea is that the states are also raising it over the federal minimum wage and also how can help poverty. There are many more topics on why the minimum wage should be raised but these reasons are the most important.
Many struggle to support their family, pay bills, and buy food on $15000 a year. Minimum wage has been causing a lot of controversy for years now, but nobody does anything to fix the problem. The main reason minimum wage is not being fixed is the rich business owner will have to spend more.People say that minimum wage jobs are easy and pay too much, but they are actually very underpaid and hard for many. One person can survive fine on $15000 a year but three or four can’t. This is one of two reasons why minimum wage should be
I don’t think the minimum wage should be raised. While low, raising the minimum wage would not necessarily have just positive effects, it would have negative effects as well. If it is raised jobs would decrease. There is a set amount of money and raising the minimum wage would not help the workers at all. The topic of minimum wage should be left between the employees and the employers, the people it really affects. It should be up to the employee to work as hard as they can and up to the employer to pay them for the job they have done. Some say that the minimum wage should be lowered, they tend to argue that with the amount the employees earn being so low they have to work extra jobs just to make a living. What they don’t see is that with a
Recorded in 2015, average living wage has been recorded at $11.87, as the minimum wage would’ve been if Congress had adjusted it for inflation over the past 35 years. While $7.25 may not seem that bad, when factoring some general expenses. Giving into consideration for the general public the biggest reason the minimum wage should be increased is the dramatic heights which gas prices have been shooting up again. Due to our national situations, gas prices have risen to nearly three dollars a gallon. Say one person were making the minimum wage amount third of their money goes to their gas tank. Unless such person lived precisely close to their job, it’s proven to be very costly. About 7.3 million personnel in the United States would value from an increases in the minimum wage. Almost 5,256,000 of those individuals, around 72%, are authorized drivers that could desperately use financial assistance with the rising prices and inflation. “The federal government is not living up to its responsibility so the states are acting,” (Senator
Several American families are struggling to make ends meet because they work a minimum wage job. Americans often face that fact and wonder how they are going to pay their bills and still have food on the table for themselves and their families. This has been an issue for quite some time now and it needs to change. Americans should not have to worry about how they are going to pay for necessities they need with the little amount of money they are earning at work. The United States would benefit from the minimum wage being raised by the growth of the economy and creation of jobs, reduction of poverty, and reduction of income inequality.
The real question everyone wants to know is, is the minimum wage going to increase or will it remain the same? Let's go back in time to where it all started in 1938. President Franklin D. Roosevelt set the minimum wage to $0.25 cents an hour. FDR had a great statement about minimum wage and it's not for little kids. The statement proposes "is the amount of money a family can make in order to survive." Originally that was what the minimum wage was established as. Problem is, other salaries have risen exponentially and the minimum wage has remained stagment and has not kept up with inflation. With every new president there has been an increase in minimum wage, whether it was a big jump or just simply $1.50
Do you think the federal minimum wage should be raised? People working minimum wage jobs think the amount should be increased. The federal minimum wage is about $7.25 an hour. People are saying this amount is not enough money to live on and that's why so many people are living in poverty. The federal minimum wage should not be raised because raising it will hurt small businesses, increase poverty levels, and create job competition.
Although it may seem fair that if the minimum wage rises low-income people will have a chance to earn more money, it will only make the situation worse. To many people around the world, the minimum wage is very low for modern society and is not enough to support a family or even yourself. In the minds of a normal person, they may think that raising the minimum wage will increase the income of a person which will mean they have enough money to buy products. It is invalid and if the minimum wage increases, financial factors (one of inflation) will invert the perspective in which people think of increasing the minimum wages.
Minimum wage is a struggle for many Americans and I believe it needs to be raised. The minimum wage of the United States is $7.25 an hour. It is a rate that isn’t letting many Americans live life comfortably. If the minimum wage was changed even a merely $3.75 it would change people’s lives and will let many people get by. The minimum wage of $7.25 has stayed the same since 2009 and there hasn’t been any effort by the government to change it. Many states have increased their minimum wage, but I hope that the minimum wage rises nationwide and not individually as states.
Over 3 million American citizens work minimum wage to support their families and their homes. This isn’t an easy task, because minimum wage is below the poverty. Jobs paying minimum wage wasn’t nearly enough to support a family of even 2 people. If minimum wage was raised to say, 10$ an hour, it would be better than the current 8.50$ workers are being paid now. Minimum wage should be raised because people simply aren’t making enough money for their financial situations on minimum wage.
Currently, the federal minimum wage sits at $7.25 per hour. (Alison Doyle). The debate is whether or not the minimum wage should be increased to $15 per hour. Larger states, such as California and New York, are preparing to raise their minimum wage to $15 per hour in the coming years. (Kate Rogers). Due to the size and population of states such as these, a minimum wage increase could actually be beneficial in increasing revenue and the standard of living for many employees. The majority of the United States is not as fortunate and vastly populated as states such as these. Therefore, an increase in the minimum wage could result in layoffs and reduced hiring. (Doyle). Overall, the minimum wage should not be increased to $15 per hour.