Richard Freeman published the article “Fighting for Other Folks’ Wages: The Logic and Illogic of Living Wage Campaigns” in January of 2005 to inform readers about implementing a living wage for many low-paid workers across the United States. Currently, people in major cities across the country are trying to raise the minimum wage to a living wage. Even though many groups advocate such changes, others worry about possible negative economic effects from creating a living wage. In the article, Freeman analyzes both arguments for and against creating a higher wage for workers. He discusses real world examples and says why the decisions are good or bad for society. Freeman wrote the article in such a way that makes it ideal for paper writing and
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He starts by talking about how the idea of a living wage erupted into a national issue when Harvard students tried to raise the minimum wage of university guards and janitors to something they could live off of (14). Many people developed conflicting views on the issue and they formed groups depending on their feelings. One group, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) supports the fight for fair pay, but other groups, many of which big business leaders created, fight against the proposed wage increases (15). In the most important paragraph of the article, Freeman takes his stance on the issue and explains what the rest of the article is about. He compares the living wage campaigns to global warming campaigns in the way that they cannot possibly fix such a broad issue. But, he spends the rest of the article talking about ways the campaigns can have more than just an impact on local workers (17). The two main topics through the second half of the article are nonworker organizations (NWOs), groups that fight for fair wages, and larger earned income tax credit (EITC) benefits (22). With this article, Freeman does not take a biased stance on the issue. Instead, he simply presents the idea of people fighting for a living wage to readers and lets them decide whether or not they want to pursue a solution to the problem. One of the biggest strengths of the article is how well Freeman …show more content…
Throughout the article, Freeman provides relevant information, properly cites his sources, and stays on topic. On top of that, his years of experience studying economics at Harvard University make his opinions more valid than many other writers. Richard Freeman provides a unique, unbiased point of view on the topic. Many people have a strong opinion one way or the other regarding raising wages, but Freeman keeps his personal opinions out of his writing. This article has definitely sparked my personal interest into doing more research on the topic of creating a living wage. I will surely use the works of Richard Freeman, and this article specifically, in my future research and in my future research
He starts by talking about how the idea of a living wage erupted into a national issue when Harvard students tried to raise the minimum wage of university guards and janitors to something they could live off of (14). Many people developed conflicting views on the issue and they formed groups depending on their feelings. One group, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) supports the fight for fair pay, but other groups, many of which big business leaders created, fight against the proposed wage increases (15). In the most important paragraph of the article, Freeman takes his stance on the issue and explains what the rest of the article is about. He compares the living wage campaigns to global warming campaigns in the way that they cannot possibly fix such a broad issue. But, he spends the rest of the article talking about ways the campaigns can have more than just an impact on local workers (17). The two main topics through the second half of the article are nonworker organizations (NWOs), groups that fight for fair wages, and larger earned income tax credit (EITC) benefits (22). With this article, Freeman does not take a biased stance on the issue. Instead, he simply presents the idea of people fighting for a living wage to readers and lets them decide whether or not they want to pursue a solution to the problem. One of the biggest strengths of the article is how well Freeman …show more content…
Throughout the article, Freeman provides relevant information, properly cites his sources, and stays on topic. On top of that, his years of experience studying economics at Harvard University make his opinions more valid than many other writers. Richard Freeman provides a unique, unbiased point of view on the topic. Many people have a strong opinion one way or the other regarding raising wages, but Freeman keeps his personal opinions out of his writing. This article has definitely sparked my personal interest into doing more research on the topic of creating a living wage. I will surely use the works of Richard Freeman, and this article specifically, in my future research and in my future research