Persuasive Essay Pro Minimum Wage

Minimum wage has been one of the most contentious battles in economic policy in the United States. In 1938, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt introduced the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA was established to give workers fair workplace rights, including the introduction of the federal minimum wage. Today, minimum wage is very debatable as to whether an increase would benefit or do harm to the United States. There is a plethora of research to the controversial issue of minimum wage but none to give it a definite benefit or a certain outcome. There are two opposing sides to the debate. Supporters say that a minimum wage increase would help the economy by putting more money into the pockets of minimum wage workers, and thus putting money back into the system, which would strengthen our economy. They also say that a minimum wage increase would increase the standard of living of workers, reduce poverty, increase employment, and benefit women workers. In contrast, those who are …show more content…
According to Carrie Wofford in her article on US News, “The Republican Case for Minimum Wage Increase,” the federal minimum wage today is $7.25 per hour. With that standard of a minimum wage, a full-time worker can only make a salary of $15,080, that is, if the worker works for fifty-two weeks straight. Today, $7.25 an hour is not enough for workers and their families to escape poverty (“Raise the Wage”). The poverty line for a family of two is below $16,000 dollars and below $18,000 for a family of three. Statistics show that working families under the current minimum wage standard are unstable, and if the standard were to be increased, it would bring out two million American workers out of the poverty line (Sessions). In an effort to bring millions out of poverty, those struggling in poverty and those who want to help are pushing for