While the rich keep on getting richer, the poor keep on getting poorer. According to the United States Census Bureau, in 2014 there were 46.7 million people in poverty. One of the easiest solutions people think of to help alleviate poverty seems as simple as raising the minimum wage. Many people are calling for the minimum wage, or “living wage”, to be raised to $15.00 an hour. Raising the minimum wage will result in higher pay that will increase a person’s income, and possibly allow them to rise above the poverty threshold. However, raising the minimum wage may also result in unemployment and a person falling deeper into poverty. Currently the minimum wage in the United States is $7.25 per hour. However, many states choose to pay their employees …show more content…
Some businesses, in order to pay employees more, will cut many workers jobs in order to keep up with costs. The business would therefore be paying its minimum wage workers higher, but according to David Neumark Chancellor’s Professor of Economics at the University of California Irvine, there is also a possibility for job loss among the minimum wage workers. Since workers have varying skill levels, this will lead companies to hire more highly skilled workers and less low skilled workers (Neumark, 2015). James Sherk, a senior policy analysist in Labor Economics adds that paying more for low skilled positions decreases the availability for these types of jobs. Many people will want to start working a minimum wage job in order to get paid the high minimum wage. Therefore, since less of these positions would be available, people would be missing out on building basic working skills that they learn at low position jobs, and that allow them to move up the ladder to better paying jobs (Sherk, 2013). The Congressional Budget Office discusses how consumers may also see an increase in prices of goods and services. Higher wages increase the costs to employers, and the employers pass off some of these costs on consumers by raising their prices. Since the prices will increase, the demand for these products will go down, and the employer will consequently hire fewer workers …show more content…
The Congressional Budget Office declares that “the effective federal marginal tax rate on earnings for low- and moderate-income workers is 32 percent, on average; that is, the combination of increased taxes and decreased benefits equals, on average, about one-third of such a worker’s added earnings” (United States, 2014). They also go on to say that for the people who are not in one of the two lowest federal income tax brackets, there would be an increase in payroll taxes and income taxes. The office then goes on to explain that the amount of benefits generally falls as income rises. This applies to cash and near-cash spending programs, premium assistance tax credits, and cost-sharing subsidies for health insurance. For example, eligibility for Medicaid is determined by wages. With raising the minimum wage some people would lose their eligibility for Medicaid because they are now making more money. Although, some people may be able to gain eligibility for subsidized coverage, not everyone would get that opportunity (United States, 2014). The system makes it very difficult to lift people out of poverty by raising the minimum
Figure 7.6 shows how the minimum wage creates a price floor. The difference between the wage rate and the amount of workers needed is unemployment. Figure 7.7 shows the potential loss of labor demanded by businesses. This could become a positive statement to say that raising the minimum wage will increase unemployment. "Recent research reveals that, despite skeptics’ claims, raising the minimum wage does not cause job loss." (Cooper and Hall). An
The raise to minimum has the potential to cut the employment by 500,000. ( Trugman, Jonathan M. ) Raising minimum wage reduces many employment opportunities and raises the prices. This gives employers and firms and incentive to use less labor. ( Dunkelberg, William. ) Hikes in minimum wage will cause employers to largely scale back on hiring. Instead steering towards automation and foreign outsourcing. ( Trumbull, Mark. ) If employers switch to automation and foreign outsourcing it will be difficult for lower skilled workers to find good jobs. ( Dunkelberg, William. ) Raising minimum wage has many negative outcomes for employers and
The government spends millions of dollars supporting poor families every year. Since the government is already in an estimated $19.4 trillion debt as of 2016, raising the minimum wage would be a way to save them money and pay back some of that debt (Lantigua-Williams). By raising the minimum wage to $10.10, 1.7 million workers would no longer need governmental support to be financially stable. With this amount of people no longer needing the government's help, the government will have extra money to use. Just from the increase of minimum wage, the government would save $4.6 billion from not having to send out as many food stamps alone. And over just one year, the increase in pay would reduce the government spending on income-support programs by $7.6 billion (“Should Federal Minimum”). The government will be able to use this money on other important things that will help the country grow and
There is a lot of controversy over whether the minimum wage should be increased to 15$ an hour in all states. Proponents say that current wages in America are not livable because inflation is way higher than the current minimum wage; Minimum wage was 1.60 in 1968, which is equal to 11.60 today. Opponents say that many cannot afford this, will have to close down, make cuts, raise prices and lay off people because they will need to pay them more. Most economists believe that that high of an increase would hurt job growth. I believe that Increasing the minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour nationwide will do more harm than good. Raising the minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour nationwide is too big of a jump and would just cause businesses to cut off workers, force small businesses to close and increase inflation.
In announcing his proposal to increase the minimum wage, the president argued that doing so would alleviate poverty. The president is certainly correct to turn his attention to the poor, many of whom have been suffering for years in a tough economy. And it is clearly desirable for households that engage in full-time work not to live in poverty. But increasing the minimum wage would
U.S. Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has said, “It is a national disgrace that millions of full-time workers are living in poverty and millions more are forced to work two or three jobs just to pay their bills” (Wolf 1). Sanders has said this frequently and is referring to the drastic amount of Americans who are currently struggling, despite already having a job. The issue of whether or not to raise the minimum wage in America has been a widely discussed topic for years. Minimum wage refers to the smallest amount of money a worker can legally be paid in the U.S. It was first signed into law in 1938 by President Franklin Roosevelt in order to keep workers out of poverty and as it stands, the current federal minimum wage in
During the 2008 Global Recession, the employment rate for young adults and low skilled workers disproportionately, and once the recession had eased the employment gap based on education worsened significantly. In 2016 Presidential election raising the minimum wage became a key policy issue for the Democratic Party to help give those workers who were hit the hardest during the recession a much needed income boost. During the 2016 Democratic National Convention the Democrats agreed to add a $15 minimum wage into the party’s platform, taking a pivotal step sought by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and labor Unions. When it comes to raising the minimum wage and what it would do to U.S. employment, prices and productivity. Economists are willing
A very controversial yet interesting issue today in the United States is minimum wage if it should be increased or not. While some want to raise minimum wage to the living wage, minimum wage should not be raised because it increases low skilled worker unemployment, increases the Cost of goods/services,and Cuts back on work hours.
Who knew that minimum wage could save the world and the people in it? The last time minimum wage was raised on July 24, 2009, and that when it rose from $6.55 to $7.25 per hour, How have we been living on $7.25 this long? We haven't been living on it we were trying to survive and a lot of people can’t survive on a minimum wage that low. Raising minimum wage to an amount that could actually let people live comfortably would help the economy and a lot of people who struggle in this economy. This is not all that can help but raising the minimum wage can be the start of a lot of problems that deal with job growth, reducing child neglect, and poverty.
If the government raised the minimum wage, then the amount of people in poverty would decline. The poverty line in 2015 was $12,331 a year, only 20 percent below a full-time minimum wage worker’s annual salary of $15,080 (Should the Federal). As a result, minimum-wage citizens can barely meet their living needs. A study completed by the National Low Income Housing Coalition in 2015 said that a worker must earn $15.50 an hour to be able to rent a one bedroom apartment. If someone needed a two bedroom apartment they would need to earn $19.35 an hour (Should the Federal). More people would be able to find adequate housing or their family if minimum wage were to increase. As a result. Less people would be living on the streets. If the minimum wage was raised to $9 an hour, over 300,000 people would be lifted out of poverty. Even better, raising minimum wage to $10.10 an hour would result in over 900,000 people out of poverty (Should the Federal). Consequently, more people would be living comfortably if the minimum wage were to be raised. Poverty levels
Minimum wage means the lowest amount that is allowed to be paid to an employed worker per hour. The federal minimum wage, meaning the minimum wage throughout the United States is $7.25, however, many states have chosen to raise theirs. The minimum wage must be raised because it will help lift people out of poverty and it will reduce the amount of spending on government programs. Raising minimum wage will help people get out of poverty. According to Census.gov, raising the minimum wage to $10.10 would lift 900,000 people out of poverty.
“Raise the wage!” reads many protestors’ signs across America. Many people believe this to be the answer to the financial inequality that plagues our country. The federal minimum wage was established to keep workers from settling on a poor living standard (Leonard A.11). Since this was passed, multiple debates and issues have risen. One begins to ask the question, is this truly the best way to resolve the unequal distribution of wealth? After research, it has been found that there are many drawbacks that are related to raising the minimum wage. Because of the number of harmful, detrimental, disadvantageous effects of increasing the base pay, the country should not continuously raise it.
The minimum wage has been a topic of discussion for decades. It was introduced in the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938, originally set at $0.25. It has since been raised 29 times. The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 and was set in 2009 (11). This is the reason many people are upset with the wage not increasing. It would take $8.09 in 2016 to equal the $7.25 from 2009. The minimum wage needs to be increased to boost the economy and lift families out of poverty. However, the minimum wage should not be increased to more than $10 per hour to prevent an increase in the price of consumer goods and prevent a spike in high school dropout rates.
Opponents to minimum wage raise claim that the minimum wage costs jobs by pricing low-wage workers out of the labor market. However, when we review academic studies that examine the effects of minimum wage increases on
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.