Imagine a society where people push themselves to the fullest and have the courage to overcome the “income gap” by taking the initiative to go the extra mile through education and starting their own businesses rather than hit the streets in protest, abandoning their jobs, demanding a minimum wage of 15 dollars. On the surface, pushing the minimum wage up from $7.25 seems the obvious solution, but is a mere band-aid on a deep wound. Creating more job opportunities, expanding business productivity, and most importantly, increasing the education and the skill level of workers will end poverty and boost prosperity. If society is interested in helping poor people live better, we appear to have the opportunity …show more content…
Negotiation of wages is part of the interview process and the job seeker is free to walk away if the company offers an insufficient salary. According to the economics teacher D. W. Mackenzie (Authority), if people want to make more money, gaining desirable skills and pursuing advanced education is essential to secure job positions, especially in the current sluggish economy (“Minimum Wage”). Presently, companies are claiming Americans lack the talent needed for the job. Increasing wages without merit rewards the lackadaisical and the teenager living at home since both feel satisfied with making more money from a mandated raise negating the need to increase productivity at work or enroll in college. Forcing employers to pay unskilled workers more takes the employee’s incentive away to earn money by working harder and discourages the mutual exchange of value for value between the two …show more content…
First, earned income tax credits are in place instead of pay federal taxes to encourage savings rewards for those who choose to work with money directed straight into the pockets of the poor (Mejeur). For instance, “a married worker with three children under nineteen who earns the current minimum wage receives $6,143 a year if he or she works all year” (Fact, Example) (Meltzer). Second, the reason why most poor Americans are living poverty threshold is that they are jobless. James Sherk, a researcher in the Center for Data Analysis, configures, “over three-fifths of individual living below the poverty line did not work.(Fact)” Therefore, raising wages will service this community less by hiring fewer workers with owners taking over spots intended for potential workers to defray costs. Lastly, the best solution is starting at the bottom and working towards the top by old-fashioned hard work (Meltzer). By taking advantage of tax credits, employing the unemployed, and advancement of learning are the most permanent ways of achieving a higher standard of