Minimum Wage Thesis

Industrial growth in the United States began in the early 1800’s; however, after the Civil War this growth changed in catastrophic proportions. Most of the labor performed pre-Civil War was that of hand labor; machines were now being used as a means of manufacturing, thus increasing the output of production exponentially. Entrepreneurs began flooding the market with goods and services that they thought the general public wanted or needed. In turn bankers and investors began to invest in these new ventures, this provided the entrepreneurs the capital needed to start the business and hire new workers

The world is filled with luxuries such as personal islands, gold-plated cars, or crystal pianos. What about everyday items like food, clothing, and shelter? Families in the United States can barely afford such items because of an American tragedy: the minimum wage. Though the sights and sounds of fluttering money is alluring, it is also elusive. The minimum wage is a tragic loss for the United States because it cannot even provide the bare minimum for employees working tirelessly for it. Opposition of raising it can be negated by statistics that show how the country can move into a brighter future. Data from economic research shows

For over a decade, many Americans have struggled with the low wage issued from employers, despite working very long hours of work. According to a study done in Oregon State University, a federal minimum wage was first set in 1938, starting at 25 cents an hour. Due to inflation that has occurred many times throughout the century, the call for raising minimum wage is to be immediately answered. However, the minimum wage falls when congress does not raise the minimum wage to keep up with inflation. Because of this many cities and states have departed from the minimum wage. In this essay, to be discussed is the reason why imposing a minimum wage above the equilibrium wage will reduce employment and contribute to an increase in the unemployment rate.

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.

The current U.S. Federal Minimum Wage is $7.25 per hour. In just two years from 2013, the demanded from advocates for raising minimum wage rose from $9 to $15. However, raising the minimum wage is more complex than simply raising the number of federal standard of pay for employees. Relative control groups and other market activities play a part in the outcome of the minimum wage. For example, one instance of market activity was observers said that raising the minimum wage did not hurt individuals; however, wages were raised during an economic downturn so the impact of minimum wage was masked by other activities. Federal Minimum Wage is pressing topic and it is important to consider the pros and cons to raising it, to ask what people and how people are affected, and to look further into the microeconomic theoretical framework of wages surrounding the topic.

According to California’s Department of Industrial Relations, all employees in the state of California must be paid the minimum wage with the exception of a few occupation that we’ll cover later in the paper. Starting July 1, 2014 the states minimum waged increased from $8 per hour into $9.00 per hour and there are even proposals to increase it to $10 per hour as early as 2016. States like California whose minimum wage is higher than the federal minimum wage must abide by the stricter law. The exemption to the minimum wage law in California applies to occupations such as outside salespersons, apprentices and if you have a family business and your spouse or children work in the business employers are not required the pay minimum wage.

In his January 2, 2014 online Atlantic article entitled “Should the Minimum Wage Depend on Your Age?, author Jordan Weissmann discusses the possibility of changing the minimum wage based on the age of the employee. He hooks in readers by bringing in what can also be considered background information by talking about a man named Charles Krauthammer who proposed that you have two minimum wages, one for the “Breadwinners” and a lower minimum for everyone else, and why hes idea is horrible. After hooking in his readers he goes on to try and prove his Thesis: that depending on the economic situation, basing wage on age could be more beneficial than some other ideas. To prove this thesis he claims that it's more beneficial because it is easier to

In addition, immigrants also try and apply for employment when they can, to try and reach their goal of the “American Dream” or their ideal theory of freedom. However, because of the necessity of jobs they can obtain, which are those many the American’s don’t want including: janitorial, agricultural, street cleaning, or even risky jobs. Getting less than minimum wage, not aware of the laws of the government as it pertains to paying taxes becomes a cycle where they are forced by many of the employers to break the law which otherwise would be followed. Not to mention, the occasional employer takes advantage of the 'illegal alien' and usually pays below minimum wage because they know the worker has no option but to either quit or accept it. And

For potential employees in the United States, one of the first things people want to know is what how much they are going to be paid. Minimum wage has been and continues be a very important topic for workers. The Fair Labor Standards Act was enacted in 1938 to protect our workers during the Great Depression under Franklin Roosevelt. According to the book, Legal Environment of Business: Online Commerce, Business Ethics, and Global Issues, “the Fair Labor Standards Act establishes a minimum wage and overtime pay requirements for workers (Cheeseman, 2016, p.454).”

Although America is known as the richest country in the world, 43 million of its citizens are in poverty. Unfortunately, some of them work full time, yet are still in poverty due to the low minimum wage (“Should We Raise”). In 1928, the first federal minimum wage of 25 cents per hour was set by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to prevent workers from being underpaid. Since 2009, the federal minimum wage has been $7.25 (Smith). The age old debate of whether or not to raise it is still going on in the US. The federal minimum wage should be increased to keep up with inflation, help support the poor, and stimulate the economy.

Before Minimum wage laws were established employers were allowed to directly negotiate pay rates with potential employees for their services, which in the case of unskilled workers constituted a take it or leave it negotiating tactic from employers. Seeking to help the poor work their way out of poverty the government established a minimum wage that forced employers to pay an amount sufficient for workers to make a basic living. While minimum wage laws were initially established to reduce poverty the incremental raising of the minimum wage over the years has resulted in the erosion of the middle class.

Most people have witnessed firsthand driving through a densely populated city and glancing out the window to see camps set up on the streets for people who cannot afford living quarters. These poor citizens are living like this because they either do not earn enough money annually to keep a home and use what they have on a source of food. Increasing federal wage to $10.25 would help these poor American citizens and the children in America as well.

In 1938, the first national minimum wage laws in the United States were passed as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which served as “a floor below wages,” to reduce poverty and to ensure that economic growth is shared across the workforce. Today, many people who work for companies that pay at or near the minimum wage and remain near or below the poverty level rely on government health and food security and income programs to supplement their living expenses. Since 1938, there have been many additional policies to the Fair Labor Standards Act that have changed many things, such as increasing the national minimum wage numerous times to the currently salary level, which was set in 1997. The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 was a policy to change the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 in three additions, which began in July of 2009. (http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/minwagebwp.pdf)

Low minimum wages affects everyday families and lives, more than the average person would think. A small minimum wage could have an very small effect on someone’s life, such as not being able to afford a new pair of boots or that new phone, contradictory to this low wages could also have a very serious effect on someone’s life . Meaning that a parent or single individual could not support their family because a lack of income, it could also mean the difference of living under a safe roof, or living in the streets. In 2016 alone, 40.6 million people in the United States

Thesis Statement: Although minimum wage helps reduce income inequality, we should abolish the minimum wage because it increases unemployment, it's unconstitutional, and it does not promote healthy competition.