When bananas were $1.05, and apples $.85 a lb. When a loaf of bread was only $1.85 and a cup of coffee was $2.50. When you could get on the bus and back for $4.00. When was all this? Back in 2009... The last time minimum wage was raised. According to Harkin, Miller, and Franken, 3 U.S. Senators, “groceries are now 10% more expensive” , and transportation cost have increased by 44%. Minimum wage in Illinois is now $8.25, leaving families with little or no room for emergency’s or travel. So how are America’s low- wage workers expected to keep up with the increasing cost of living? Find cheaper alternatives, Some way suggest. But then what about emergencies, accidents, or spontaneity? Where does that come in the budget? The effects of minimum
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Especially for minimum wage earning Americans. Minimum wage doesn’t account for the actualities of life. Family’s are expected to live on about $77 a week. That has to cover the cost of transportation, food, housing costs and still support dependent children. According to U.S. representative Jan Schakowsky, “You can’t afford to get sick, miss a day of work, or buy medication. You 're in real trouble if you blow a tire, and don’t forget your lunch at home” (Schakowsky, 2). Natural disasters seem like they are just not an option for families that are making minimum wage. Something as little as buying a bottle of NyQuil can now basically put one in debt, because the cost of getting a cold was simply not in the budget. A family with two breadwinners and four dependent children testified that “At the end of the week, I still don’t have enough money to put food on the table or clothes on kids’ back, buy them shoes or school supplies,” (Maxie- Collins , 3). This woman working at Macy’s for $8.25 says that if it wasn’t for government assistance (EBT Food stamps) She couldn’t put food on the table every night. So what happens to the families with the short end of the stick, that don’t always get chosen for government assistance? Minimum wage workers don’t get to enjoy the luxuries that the high-wage earning take for granted. “We didn’t have enough money for dry cleaning, nor could we do our laundry in the coin …show more content…
This is actually quite false. Well partially. Raising minimum wage will cause inflation, but not in a negative way. First how does one define inflation? Inflation is defines as a sustained increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy over a period of time. So basically in this context that is saying that an increase in wages causes increase in prices of goods. So some believe. But according to an article analyzing the effects of minimum wage, If minimum wage was to be raised to $10.10 then, low wage earners will be “able to pay off the expenses in the need category and pursue products that are not a necessity. This will increase demand for those products, therefore, the price will deflate”(Fred Arnold). Low wage earners make up more than 1/2 of the American workforce. If this majority of workers could actually afford the products, goods and services that are necessary then there wouldn’t be such high prices and taxes on goods to make up for the lack of income. Why is the fact that so many minimum wage workers are living in poverty being ignored? “raising the minimum wage 10 percent (say from $7.25 to near $8) would reduce the number of people living in poverty by 2.4 percent” ( Konczal,1). By raising minimum wage by $.75 can change the lives of millions of people. By taking them out of
Especially for minimum wage earning Americans. Minimum wage doesn’t account for the actualities of life. Family’s are expected to live on about $77 a week. That has to cover the cost of transportation, food, housing costs and still support dependent children. According to U.S. representative Jan Schakowsky, “You can’t afford to get sick, miss a day of work, or buy medication. You 're in real trouble if you blow a tire, and don’t forget your lunch at home” (Schakowsky, 2). Natural disasters seem like they are just not an option for families that are making minimum wage. Something as little as buying a bottle of NyQuil can now basically put one in debt, because the cost of getting a cold was simply not in the budget. A family with two breadwinners and four dependent children testified that “At the end of the week, I still don’t have enough money to put food on the table or clothes on kids’ back, buy them shoes or school supplies,” (Maxie- Collins , 3). This woman working at Macy’s for $8.25 says that if it wasn’t for government assistance (EBT Food stamps) She couldn’t put food on the table every night. So what happens to the families with the short end of the stick, that don’t always get chosen for government assistance? Minimum wage workers don’t get to enjoy the luxuries that the high-wage earning take for granted. “We didn’t have enough money for dry cleaning, nor could we do our laundry in the coin …show more content…
This is actually quite false. Well partially. Raising minimum wage will cause inflation, but not in a negative way. First how does one define inflation? Inflation is defines as a sustained increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy over a period of time. So basically in this context that is saying that an increase in wages causes increase in prices of goods. So some believe. But according to an article analyzing the effects of minimum wage, If minimum wage was to be raised to $10.10 then, low wage earners will be “able to pay off the expenses in the need category and pursue products that are not a necessity. This will increase demand for those products, therefore, the price will deflate”(Fred Arnold). Low wage earners make up more than 1/2 of the American workforce. If this majority of workers could actually afford the products, goods and services that are necessary then there wouldn’t be such high prices and taxes on goods to make up for the lack of income. Why is the fact that so many minimum wage workers are living in poverty being ignored? “raising the minimum wage 10 percent (say from $7.25 to near $8) would reduce the number of people living in poverty by 2.4 percent” ( Konczal,1). By raising minimum wage by $.75 can change the lives of millions of people. By taking them out of