Pros And Cons Of Minimum Wage

Rex Huppke, a journalist for the Chicago Tribune, deftly discusses the pros and cons of raising the minimum wage in the last of a two-week series in “In the Minimum Wage Debate, Both Sides Make Valid Points”. Although I am for raising the minimum wage, Huppke’s presentation of the opposite argument does make one think beyond the gut reading that everyone deserves more money. Huppke’s argument that a large number of minimum wage earners are student of the elderly leads me to believe that a tier of wages would take care of the issue. For example, anyone working less than 35 hours a week would be paid at a certain rate; with full time getting an increase. I am not concerned by the argument that a higher minimum wage leads to lay-offs or price increases when most products sold in America are manufactured by cheap foreign labor. There is already a huge profit margin that could sustain such an increase. Rather than give discounts on goods and services, thus preventing employees from exercising the right to shop, stay or eat wherever the employee chooses, these employers trap workers into giving back the very money they have “slaved” for.

The minimum wage was established in the United States by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 at 25 cents per hour. These laws are broadly supported by the public. Congress enacted these rules to combat “labor conditions detrimental to the maintenance of the minimum standard of living necessary for health, efficiency, and the general well-being of the workers” (Sharp, 2013 p. 71). The purpose and intent of

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)

The federal minimum wage was established in 1938 as a part of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA established a number of constraints regarding labor including minimum wage, maximum work week, lowest employee age of 14, and other regulations. The federal minimum wage was “first established during the Depression, and it has risen from 25 cents to $7.25 per hour since” (Wihbey 1). The FLSA was established to protect the citizens and ensure a safe and fair workplace. Minimum wage was specifically included in the FLSA to ensure that employees would not be unfairly working for incredibly low wages. When minimum wage was first introduced to the US, it was determined to be “unconstitutional” in a court case. Since then, the wage has been adjusted for inflation about every 10 years.

Minimum wage is the minimum hourly wage an employee can earn from work. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the minimum wage law on June 25, 1938. However, the United States has not always had a minimum wage. The United States minimum wage has been in effect since the Great Depression. Before then there was no minimum wage and there certainly were not any legislation to look after workers from development. Many of workers had to work in awful environments such as factories and sweatshops and they were only paid a few pennies a week. The minimum wage started at 0.25 cents per hour and the maximum workweek at 44 hours in 1938. As of today, the federal minimum wage is at $7.25 an hour, part of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

There are 156. 4 million people in the US workforce, however 5.2% of those are unemployed. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour; however, each state has its own laws regarding minimum wage and the amount can be higher or lower than the federal minimum, but the employee receives the higher of the two (2015). A higher minimum wage means that employers are less apt to hire someone. Some experts explain this by saying that if an employer values the job at a lower wage per hour than the minimum wage set by the government, then the employer is less likely to hire someone to fill that role. The employer only wants to hire someone when that person will be able to generate some sort of value for the company and positively affect the bottom line. Another problem with a high minimum wage is that potential employees are less likely to want to work if they are able to receive unemployment benefits from the government that will almost equal that which they would receive from working a minimum wage job (Gillikin).

Introduced in 1938 as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act to help with the Great Depression, the minimum wage was the first form for federal action to make sure employers are paying their labors. Started at just $0.25, the current federal minimum wage is $7.80, but many states have their own minimum wage, some higher than the federal minimum wage and some lower. The minimum wage makes sure that the workers have a sustainable income and are not paid very low. Unfortunately, in this time period, the current minimum wage is not enough to survive without extra income. Kevin A. Hasset and Michael R. Strain point this fact out in their article The minimum-wage debate, “In addition, workers who earn the minimum wage are generally not the primary

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, from the United States Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, was a policy to change the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 in three additions, which began in July of 2009. (U.S., 2009).

Increasing the federal minimum wage has been a controversial topic around the United States; many people are in favor of raising the minimum wage, while others heavily oppose the idea. While everyone is entitled to their own opinion, statistics have shown that the minimum wage is closely correlated to public health, and it shows that this topic is a much bigger and broader picture than simply economics. The federal minimum wage has a history that dates all the way back to 1938, and the strong debates and opinions surrounding it still continue to this day. (ProCon.org, 2016) Like any health policy issue, there are both pros and cons to the issue, and there are also different aspects and perspectives to look at when it comes to both the

Does one make enough money to get by? Well many people do not and those people struggle paying for food, bills, and daily needs. Due to this, people are trying to get a law passed to raise the minimum wage. Minimum Wage Laws is a big topic in today's world. At the same point, some people believe that everything will end up the same. This is because once you raise the minimum wage, you raise the cost of living. When more people start making more, businesses will start raising the prices of items, causing it to be the same as it was before, just with more money involved. There are many ways that people could favor or dislike the idea of this law. Many people have different opinions; therefore, there are pros and cons to minimum wage laws.

Minimum wage has been a largely discussed topic not only in the United States but around the world. There have been heated debates on whether we should increase minimum wage or leave it as it is. In this bill I plan on giving you a brief history of the topic at hand as well as the pros and cons as to why we should increase the federal minimum wage. It was 1894 when New Zealand passed the world’s first national minimum wage laws. This minimum wage law impacted both businesses and industries across the country. Australia was the second jurisdiction to pass the law, but Australia’s minimum wage laws only affected six industries that paid low wages. In 1904, the minimum wage laws grew to cover 150 industries. After both Australia and New Zealand

“It is as important to examine what we forgo, as well as what we will get if we choose one alternative over another.” In other words, before a change is implemented into an economy, careful consideration of all other alternatives and their possible outcomes must be thoroughly examined. However, unforeseen outcomes often arise due to the imperfectability of humans.

With many people in the modern day working for minimum wage jobs, especially young adults, there has been an outbreak in protests with many working under these conditions arguing that the minimum wage should be increased from 7.25 to at least 10.00 dollars an hour. It is found that “45% of minimum wage workers are aged 16-24” (US Department of Labor). What is not known to this age group and others working in minimum wage is that there can be unpredicted consequences of raising the federal minimum wage. This list of cons that can come along with a rising minimum wage includes the forcing of businesses to lay off workers, the hurting and closing of businesses, the rise in consumer good prices, and the tendency for companies to replace workers

A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers must legally pay their workers for their services. It is an example of a price floor below which workers may not wish to sell their labour legally. The purpose of minimum wages is to protect workers against low pay. They help ensure an equitable share of profits and a minimum living wage to all who are employed. Minimum wage can also be one element of a policy to overcome poverty and reduce inequality, including those between men and women, by promoting the right to equal pay for equal value of work.

The minimum wage is the lowest possible wage that employers can legally pay their workers. Today, it seems like everyone has their own opinion on the minimum wage. Should it be abolished, raised, or should it remain the same? I will talk about the pros and the cons of raising the minimum wage as well as my own opinion if it should be raised or if it should stay the same.