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The Argument Against Raising Minimum Wage

Decent Essays

Paying for a college education creates a dilemma when a student only earns minimum wage flipping burgers at a local fast food restaurant. The current federal minimum wage stands at $7.25 per hour before taxes. The debate on whether it should increase or remain constant has been occurring for many years. Raising the minimum wage to match the current cost of living seems like a good idea, but this could cause some negative effects. John Komlos’ article “Why raising the minimum wage is good economics” delivers a more effective argument than Rex Huppke’s article “The argument against raising minimum wage” through the use of ethos, logos, and a valid conclusion. To start with, ethos constitutes the first element of comparison between the articles. Beginning in “Why raising the minimum wage is good economics,” Komlos includes The Economist, a “weekly international news and business publication” to increase his credibility on this topic (The Economist, n.d., para. 1). Second, Komlos’ (2015) article contains “Alan Kruegar of Princeton University” (para. 7). One may not know Alan Kruegar, however reading Princeton University immediately catches the eye and gives Komlos more credibility. Additionally, Komlos supplies a synopsis about himself at the end of the article which allows the reader to see that he “is a professor emeritus of economics and of economic history at the University of Munich” (para. 14). In “The argument against raising minimum wage,” Huppke introduces four

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