Introduction
All human beings have inherent needs that they ought to fulfill so as to lead comfortable lives. Some of the obvious needs include the basic needs such as food, shelter and clothing. Although these needs are regarded as basic, human beings desire other secondary needs so as to enjoy a meaningful life such as adequate health care, education, as well as some luxuries. It is from the desire to fulfill such needs that humans search for jobs so as to earn wages to cater for their needs. On the other side, employers strive to reduce costs as much as they can, and this typically leads to the payment of very low wages. It is from this background that governments intervene by setting minimum wages so as to protect laborers from exploitation …show more content…
Other perceived benefits of setting minimum wages include the belief that it pushes businesses towards greater efficiency, raises the living standards of labor, and reduces poverty as well as inequality …show more content…
The market rule in the hiring and employment of resources (including labor) is that demand and supply interact to set the market prices. This means that the available labor competes for the available jobs that the market can supply that in turn culminates in declining wages as desperate employees take on any available jobs for sustenance (Neumark & Wascher, 2008). Thus, it becomes necessary for governments to reign in so ensure lower cadre employees earn meaningful wages that can enable them live a dignified life. Although critics argue that legislation on minimum wages has the potential to lead to loss of jobs as businesses outsource services to countries with lower labor costs, most of the low-wage jobs include unskilled direct service jobs such as cleaning and security which are difficult to outsource. Thus, minimum wages help improve living standards of the lowest paid
All human beings have inherent needs that they ought to fulfill so as to lead comfortable lives. Some of the obvious needs include the basic needs such as food, shelter and clothing. Although these needs are regarded as basic, human beings desire other secondary needs so as to enjoy a meaningful life such as adequate health care, education, as well as some luxuries. It is from the desire to fulfill such needs that humans search for jobs so as to earn wages to cater for their needs. On the other side, employers strive to reduce costs as much as they can, and this typically leads to the payment of very low wages. It is from this background that governments intervene by setting minimum wages so as to protect laborers from exploitation …show more content…
Other perceived benefits of setting minimum wages include the belief that it pushes businesses towards greater efficiency, raises the living standards of labor, and reduces poverty as well as inequality …show more content…
The market rule in the hiring and employment of resources (including labor) is that demand and supply interact to set the market prices. This means that the available labor competes for the available jobs that the market can supply that in turn culminates in declining wages as desperate employees take on any available jobs for sustenance (Neumark & Wascher, 2008). Thus, it becomes necessary for governments to reign in so ensure lower cadre employees earn meaningful wages that can enable them live a dignified life. Although critics argue that legislation on minimum wages has the potential to lead to loss of jobs as businesses outsource services to countries with lower labor costs, most of the low-wage jobs include unskilled direct service jobs such as cleaning and security which are difficult to outsource. Thus, minimum wages help improve living standards of the lowest paid