Should People Raise Minimum Wage

The words “raising minimum wage” typically strikes fear into the average person because they can’t imagine a high schooler making more than 10 dollars an hour. However, they’re missing a crucial key word to this plan – minimum. Yes, that guy that messed up your burger at McDonalds would be making 12 to 15 dollars an hour. But that doesn’t mean that you also will, or that your mother, father, sister, what have you, will be making that same amount. By raising the minimum of something, you also raise everything above it by proxy. Someone who makes 15 dollars an hour will be making up to 23 dollars an hour or more. This change would, of course, happen gradually, so our economy has time to

The people of America need to afford to live. Millions of minimum-wage workers today live in near destitution. Minimum wage workers are not paid nearly what they should be to survive. The minimum wage being raised to fifteen dollars an hour helps the U.S. economy, reduces the number of people in federal assistance programs, and is supported by the majority of U.S. citizens.

Imagine being a single mother of three. Now let's say someone didn’t finish high school because they were pregnant with their first child. They are also paid at minimum wage, which is $7.25 an hour where they live. Would it be possible to live like that? 1.3 million people in the united states are paid at minimum wage. In some states the $7.25 an hour is lowered or there is none at all. Minimum wage should be raised, although some argue it shouldn’t because of consumer prices.

Raising minimum wage has been a battle for many decades and it has always been a battle to raise it. Many families that work for a minimum wage job often have trouble making ends meet because making $8.75 just isn’t enough in this today’s economy. Some jobs are paying $2.13 an hour but this is mostly at restaurants that are family owned but if they don’t make enough on tips they must get paid $7.25 per hour they worked. Although minimum wage has changed dramatically since 1938 when it was $0.25 cents (Kurtz&Yellin) American families simply cannot live on minimum wage. Raising minimum wage should be raised to help families that need it the most.

Should America’s minimum wage be raised from $7.25 all the way to $15 an hour? Many are for raising it because they say it will decrease the amount of families living uncomfortably in poverty struggling to pay rent, feed their children, and make ends meet. But those who are against it, say it will increase the amount of businesses going bankrupt and will drive unemployment sky high. Critics of minimum wage say that minimum wage should be changed to living wage which will take the economy into account and would provide families with enough to live a comfortable lifestyle. Raising minimum wage in the United States to $15 an hour would be a bad idea for three reasons, earnings per share in even large stores would plummet, it would drive unemployment to an all-time high, and it will not take the economy into account.

According to supporters, keeping or raising the minimum wage would benefit the economy. When people receive increased wages they are likely to spend it (Learning). The more money that people spend nation wide the better the economy. These people want the minimum wage to be changed to $9 per hour. Raising the minimum wage by 1.75 per hour would bring an employee's annual salary to $18,720 ("Minimum Wage"). That would increase the annual salary by almost $4000. The United States spends Billions paying to help low-income workers. We have all these low-wage workers who are receiving $7.50, $8, or $9 an hour, and because they earn such small wages, the government subsidizes them with billions or tens of billions of dollars of social-welfare spending that comes from the taxpayer.," explains Ron Unz a strong political figure in California (Ornstein). Nationwide savings would be enormous with increased wage. Especially over the last few years groups of people have been protesting for higher wages. Cities and states have been considering or acting upon the raise ("Minimum Wage"). Protests have proven effective in a few communities nationwide. The main goal of the supporters is to raise the minimum wage to at least $9 per

A fifteen dollar an hour minimum wage will affect over three hundred thousand workers and cost over two hundred twenty eight million dollars over the next five years(Deng 1). San Francisco raised the minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour. That being said The Mark Perry of the American Enterprise Institution, Adam Ozimek and Stephen Bronars of Edgewood Economics reported that since the increase many restaurants and hotels have laid off workers (Puzder 1). This comes as no surprise since in 2014 the Congressional Budget Office found that increasing the minimum wage to ten dollars and ten cents an hour would result in 500,000 job losses ( Puzder 1). As of right now 6.5 million Americans are working part time because they’re unable to find full-time jobs and opportunities ( Puzder 1). Raising minimum wage is only going to hurt those that are currently part time, unemployed and the upcoming generation of young adults just now about to enter the working

According to procon.org “if we were to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 there would be economic loss of up to 500,000 jobs.” When people think about the idea of making $10.10 an hour they think about money not all the other people that will probably get laid off if the minimum wage goes up. In a recent survey they asked 1,213 businesses what they would do if the legal minimum wage were to go up to $10.10. This survey showed “38% of employers who currently pay minimum wage said they would lay off some employees if the minimum wage was raised to $10.10. 54% said they would decrease hiring levels.”(procon.org) This is a highly substantial loss of jobs in the U.S.

Minimum wage always seems like a topic of conversation in the media. As of now, the current set minimum wage has been claimed as not being a livable wage, therefore there has been an outcry to raise it. However, we cannot turn a blind eye to what that may do to our economy. While raising the minimum wage can have a beneficial effects of providing a livable wage, reducing the need for dependent of poverty-focused government resources, and may even reduce crime, there can be many hidden problems that crop up through the woodwork that can undermine this improvement.

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

"I guarantee you if a $15 minimum wage goes across the country you're going to see a job loss like you can not believe.’’ (“Mcdonald’s” 1)A higher minimum wage would create job loss,not gain. Another thing a higher minimum wage would do is destroy the economy.Some people might say the minimum wage would put more money into the working people pockets.Even though a high minimum wage would put more money into the pocket of working people,a high minimum wage would not work because of living costs, the economy and stock market would crash because of the money inflation and places like California have a higher population to support,so it can work for them.

Everyone thinks that raising the current minimum wage to $15, then it will reduce poverty and help everyone as a whole. What everyone does not realize is that if that happens, then poverty might actually get worse and more problems occur. The whole point to raise the minimum wage is to give the workers more money so that they may live a little easier. The problem with this plan is that by raising the minimum wage companies will have to pay them more. They will start to increase the cost of their product or service to compensate for the increased pay. This makes raising the minimum wage completely useless. What is best right now is to keep the minimum wage as it is. For now it is neither doing harm or doing any good. It’s a good neutral for the time being.

Imagine a country where you can do a job that requires no skill whatsoever and get paid fifteen dollars an hour. That sounds amazing, right? Well, you’re wrong. Raising the federal minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour will cause more issues than it solves. Raising it will cause an increase in the unemployment rate, an increase in the standard of living, and an increase in business loss.

Some people don 't see how increasing the minimum wage can boost our economy so the best way to demonstrate it is through history. Our economy has faced many challenges through the years since it’s founding in 1776, but it’s most difficult challenge to the economy would be the Great Depression. After the stock market crash in 1929 people pulled all of their money out of the bank and horded the money they had. This caused the economy to become even more damaged because our economy depends on consumer spending. By increasing the minimum wage to fifteen Dollars a hour

Jason Furman and Parrot Sharon explain why raising minimum wage will help families. The wage has to be elevated to just the point where a family can actually afford all the necessities they need in order to survive. The cost of living in houses for poor people makes it difficult for them to afford it and is difficult to stay on task with all the bills. Many minimum wage workers have families to support. The cost of raising children is very expensive. It is an average of $7,100 per year. Minimum wage workers can barely afford to pay child care for one child, let alone two. Increasing minimum wage will also make life easier to those who have food stamps and child care needs. Which can also help them get into college a lot faster so they can go out and pursue a better paying job.