The most compelling problem in the United States’ labor market is the extremely low federal minimum wage. The current minimum wage before taxes is about $15,000 each year, or $7.25 per hour (History). Workers making minimum wage (or a wage close to it) are forced to work longer hours or multiple jobs. The ‘American Dream’ in which we as a people aspire to essentially says that if a person works hard every day, they can be successful in our country of opportunities. However, the people in this country who work multiple jobs are not doing so to get ahead and be successful; they are doing so in order to keep up with the expenses of living. It is both immoral and costly to our society for people to work extensively just to afford the costs of living, and we therefore ought to have a minimum wage that is substantial enough to live off of.
In the video, Two American Families, a black and white family both experience hardship after the factory that employed both fathers leaves for states that have weaker unions and lower wages (Moyers 2013). In …show more content…
Rod Sullivan, the Chair of the Johnson County Board of Supervisors, has a significant amount of experience and knowledge surrounding the increase of a minimum wage – as Johnson County is in the process of increasing theirs to $10.10/hour in incremental stages. Sullivan first points out the type of people who the minimum wage would help the most – women and African American workers. Both of these groups work a majority of the low-income jobs in the country today, so they experience economic instability significantly more than other groups. Thus, an increase in the minimum wage directly helps women and African Americans. Sullivan later covered myths about the negative impacts a higher minimum wage would
In the video, Two American Families, a black and white family both experience hardship after the factory that employed both fathers leaves for states that have weaker unions and lower wages (Moyers 2013). In …show more content…
Rod Sullivan, the Chair of the Johnson County Board of Supervisors, has a significant amount of experience and knowledge surrounding the increase of a minimum wage – as Johnson County is in the process of increasing theirs to $10.10/hour in incremental stages. Sullivan first points out the type of people who the minimum wage would help the most – women and African American workers. Both of these groups work a majority of the low-income jobs in the country today, so they experience economic instability significantly more than other groups. Thus, an increase in the minimum wage directly helps women and African Americans. Sullivan later covered myths about the negative impacts a higher minimum wage would