Minimum Wage Arguments

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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 2.6 million people in the US earn the hourly wage of $7.25 or under. There have been many changes to the minimum wage throughout the years and the latest bill concerning this is the S. 1832. Better known as the Pay Workers a Living Wage Act was a bill, it would have raised the minimum wage through a period of several years (GovTrack). The bill addressed both increases of minimum wage as well as tips (GovTrack). I will be focusing on the minimum wage where tips are not concerned. Pay Workers a Living Wage Act was a bad bill because it would have reduced the number of jobs as well as prevent inexperienced and unskilled and inexperienced laborers from getting hired.
In this essay I will firstly introduce the bill explaining both the history of minimum wage laws in America, as well as its status and its proponents and opponents. Secondly I will show the problems with the bill as well as show the arguments for it. …show more content…
Proponents of the bill say that with the increase of productivity in the United States, minimum wages should also increase.
According to a May 2nd, 2015 article in The Economist,
While productivity in the United States has increased by 220 percent since the 1960’s, wage has not paced in tandem, increasing by less than 100 percent. The Huffington Post states,
The minimum wage should have reached $21.72 an hour in 2012 if it kept up with increases in worker productivity, according to a March study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research. While advancements in technology have increased the amount of goods and services that can be produced in a set amount of time, wages have remained relatively flat, the study points out. (Fairchild)
Since overall productivity has increased, supporters of the bill say it is only be fair to increase workers’ wages. Consequently the minimum wage should

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