Minimum Wage 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 cost of living, and the standard of living, have a direct effect on how much money people make. Generally speaking, a person who makes a lot money, has a better standard of living, while someone who works a minimum wage job, has a lower standard of living. It is very normal for the minimum wage to increase in America, as it has ever since it was established in the thirties, but it is important to remember, when the minimum wage increases, other wages, and salaries must
Raising the minimum wage is a very important public policy issue. Raising the minimum wage is a responsible policy that is supported by research and demanded by the American public. Each day, minimum wage workers across the country struggle to make ends meet and provide a decent life for their kids (Scott & Perez, 2016). Raising the minimum wage is a controversial issue, many believe that raising the minimum wage would only provide low wage workers more money to spend. However, the benefits can be endless for low wage workers. If minimum wage is increased across the United States it would afford the people effected more opportunities for financial freedom. Increasing the minimum wage would raise the standard of living for low wage workers, allow families to be removed from poverty, allow for government welfare spending to be reduced and lastly additional income being spent would positively affect the economy.
In 1938 congress instituted minimum wage with 25 cents an hour being the first wage. After 78 years seven dollars has been the increase of minimum wage, stated by the article listed on, Heritage.org . Every year the cost of living and surviving in this country increases. You would think after 78 years, minimum wage would not be at $7.25. Many college students work part-time jobs that pays minimum wage to have some extra cash in their pockets or pay a few minor bills. Having a part time job is perfectly fine in college, but imagine not being in college, working a minimum wage job. Lets be honest, the pay checks are no where near what you would like them to be or it isn 't enough to cover everything that you want or need. So, imagine not being in college, working a full time job, with rent, children, car note, insurance, and etc. Many adults work minimum wage jobs, barely making it to provide for themselves and their kids. Your probably thinking, "maybe those people should go back to school or look for a better job.” Yes, that is true but for most people, its too late. A better job requires a degree, most people have kids and cant afford to take a couple of hours off or get someone to watch their kids while they attend school, so a minimum wage job is the only option. So, to make a better life for the struggling parents and the needy college students, increasing the minimum wage is a must for various reasons which include decreasing poverty, increasing health, and relieving
In the United States of America, federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. This is an issue, nation wide because the price of living is increasing, while the pay has not. Teenagers are not the only people that are getting paid this amount, adults that are considered the “bread winners” are too, and struggling with it. Supposing that the living wage was increased, the cost of living would be more manageable, and less stressful for many. Hundreds of thousands of people are living in poverty, since they are making the bare minimum and unable to support themselves or their family. If federal minimum wage was increased significantly, then people working forty hours per week would be well above the poverty line, and able to support themselves, easily.
Minimum wage was established on October 24, 1938 after President Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act. (Grossman) Minimum wage was set to allow working class citizens an opportunity to work a reasonable amount of hours for pay that would enable individuals to maintain a minimal quality life.
Minimum wage continues to increase, but does it increase enough? Minimum wage right now in Florida is set at $8.05 but who can really live off that. It is absurd that the minimum wage has not increase since the 1960’s in real buying power. The reason for this statement is that the minimum wage in the 1960’s allowed people to buy more items then they could buy with the minimum wage in 2013. In Order have the same buying power as in the 1960’s the minimum wage in 2013 would need to be at least $9.84 an hour. However, the minimum wage in 2013 was only at $7.25 an hour which was a 35.7 percent decrease of the buying power of an individual. The cost of living is continuously increasing. Bills, housing and everyday expenses continue to increase, which is making it impossible for people to live comfortably. The Minimum wage increase ties into chapter 8 Social Stratification and the U.S Class system in the Society in Focus book. Applying the conflict, functionalist and symbolic interactionist perspective to this chapter will help with further understanding the different aspects and causes with increasing minimum wage.
Minimum wage laws say that an employee cannot be paid less than a certain amount for their labor and skill. The fluctuation of such laws can cause major economic issues including an increase in unemployment rates. When the idea to raise minimum wage to nine dollars per hour came to be, the original thought was that a higher hourly rate for the lowest level workers meant less people would live below the poverty line. One who is simple minded and does not consider consequences would believe this to work; instead however this worsens the issue. When wages go up, the employers find ways around spending more money on their employees by letting go of the lowest skilled workers and finding more efficient technology to replace them. This in turn increases unemployment levels and makes it more difficult for unskilled workers to get a job; not to mention the cause of
Macroeconomics: Should the Minimum Wage Increase? Should the Minimum Wage Increase? Minimum wage is the lowest wage permitted by law or by a special agreement that can be applied for an employee or put simply, the lowest amount of pay that an employee can make. Governments set a minimum wage on businesses in hope for reduced poverty and increasePremium 1355 Words 6 Pages
The issue with the minimum wage is that some companies don’t see a benefit from it, it can be a factor to decisions the company or businesses may take. The owners of these businesses would rather have no limit to how much they spend on their employees, but that would create a problem. Some Companies could neglect the workers and just pocket more of the profit they make. This would be unjust to many employees’ especially low-income employees trying to support families. Another could be that the people receiving minimum pay will argue it is too low. Originally minimum wage is to set a dollar amount for those who make less amounts. Raising the dollar amount will help the employee’s see bigger numbers on their pay stubs, but everything else priced will
Things in our society have changed drastically in the last ten to fifteen years. I remember seeing gas prices for $1.00, but I also remember when they were almost $5.00 a gallon. Things are not cheap like they use to be. A lot of people have to work more than one job to make ends meet. Single mothers have to pay for daycare, and that is expensive in itself. There has been talk for quite some time about raising the minimum wage. With everything in life, there will be positive and negative impacts on this subject. I for one am for a minimum wage increase. We will take a look at the aspects it will have for employees, how the increase will affect our cost of living, and how it will affect employers.
If a society with a minimum wage were to increase the amount of that minimum wage, the results would be both negative and positive. The minimum wage was created to prevent business owners from taking advantage of employees who desperately need income. Right now, the minimum wage in the U.S. is $7.25. Small business leaders are fearful that an increase in payroll will cause their business to fail due to high production costs. Employees argue that working at a minimum wage is not enough to live comfortably, even more impossible to support a family. If the government were to increase payroll to a minimum of $15 per hour nationwide, it would cause 9 million job losses. On the plus side, business owners would see less turnovers and an increase in productivity, because people would have more spending money in their pockets, thus helping other businesses as well (Dixon, L. 2018, February 08).
Minimum wage has been a constant battle in the United States for decades. The ultimate goal is to put the American people in the best position possible to succeed and be the least limited. Many believe the immediate thought that higher wages equals higher standard of living and mitigating the poverty gap because more money will be in the hands of consumers, but this is a near sighted belief. The long term effects of raising wages not only will cause detriments of loss of employment, mistargeting, technology replacement, but will also cause for a loss of incentives to work which will diminish the opportunities and economic stability offered. Allowing for this to take place would be a disservice to the American people.
Minimum wage is a law set by the government, which is the lowest pay employers can pay their employees. Raising or keeping minimum wage the same has many pros and cons, but keeping the minimum wage the same is beneficial.Human Geography sixth edition by Paul Knox and Sallie Marston provides information about global economic. “ Travel eastward, they leave an agrarian realm with few jobs and miserable wages and enter the realm of “ agglomeration economies”, in which by labor market attracts manufacturers what offer better wage” (Knox and Marston, 214). One of the downsides to keeping the minimum wages the same is people who are not getting to their satisfaction will move to where they are able to make more income. In class we discussed how elasticty of demands affects society. Paul Knox and Sallie Marston stated, “ Degree to which
Raising minimum wage has in the recent years become a very controversial and personal issue, and although it is slowly becoming a more popular idea, some people still resist the movement. What people who oppose the adjustment of minimum wage are not considering, is that by raising minimum wage, it will allow low income families or otherwise low income individuals to earn more, in turn, allowing them to spend more money on goods and services. It will also help the same people who rely on government aid such as food stamps and Medicaid to become more self-reliant, and moreover, it will allow people who are in the working poverty to begin moving into the lower reaches of the middle class.
Minimum wage in America is the lowest amount of money permitted by law that one can be paid for a job. The federally mandated minimum wage is seven dollars and twenty five cents, but there are twenty-nine states that have passed bills to raise minimum wage above that required by the federal government. In many cases this has a negative effect on these states. The higher minimum wage causes inflation, lowers the job opportunities for high school and college students, as well as forcing companies to hire fewer employees to accomplish the same job. The current minimum wage should not be increased past its current federally mandated level.
Increasing minimum wage would not be good for the most vulnerable people. This includes teenagers, low-income families, and families that have more than 3 people in the household. The people that would get hurt the most by increasing the minimum wage would be those people who are supposed to be the beneficiaries. Shrek once said, “Even left-leaning European governments that embrace activist government, labor market regulation understands raising the minimum wage that high would hurt the most vulnerable workers” (The New American). A higher minimum wage could result in a significant increase in high school dropouts. People who want to increase minimum wage would say the exact opposite. They would say that increasing the minimum wage would be good and that it would help families out but that is not the case. Increasing the minimum wage would help reduce