The minimum wage is a controversial political issue. Americans’ views on the minimum wage law vary widely; some citizens believe that it should be abolished entirely, others think that the minimum amount should be expanded to match the rate of inflation. Raising the minimum wage does not come without its issues. However adjusting the minimum wage to match inflation, the United States would see an increase in economic activity, a reduction in poverty, and a reduction in race and gender inequalities.
To determine why the minimum wage should be increased, it is helpful to look back on what the minimum wage is and why it was originally established. Minimum wage is a wage law that is set for employers as a minimum amount of money per hour an employee …show more content…
It is important to realize that there are people who work full time but still rely on government aid programs to survive, according to Aimee Picche in her article, How Low-Wage Employers Cost Taxpayers $153B a Year. Picche goes on to detail how vast the problem of minimum wage workers on public assistance is in America, stating, “Almost three-quarters of enrollees in the country 's biggest public support programs are members of working families”.
If the minimum wage were to be raised to $12 an hour, the wages of 35 million workers in America would increase, as declared by David Cooper, a senior economic analyst for the Economic Policy Institute. This economic boost would not only offer workers the ability to detach from public assistance programs, but also give them greater purchasing power and reinvest the money back into American …show more content…
Seattle, Washington is a great example of how to enact a steep wage increase with minimal impact on small businesses. Employers who have more than five hundred employees are required to the minimum wage of all employees to at least $15 an hour in a period of three years, as reported by Peter Kelley for the University of Washington. At the same time, businesses with fewer than five hundred employees have small, incremental wage changes that occur over a period of seven years to allow the business to slowly adjust to the new state minimum, Kelley details. This model has proven to be successful thus far, although it is still in its early stages so long-term effects have yet to be
To determine why the minimum wage should be increased, it is helpful to look back on what the minimum wage is and why it was originally established. Minimum wage is a wage law that is set for employers as a minimum amount of money per hour an employee …show more content…
It is important to realize that there are people who work full time but still rely on government aid programs to survive, according to Aimee Picche in her article, How Low-Wage Employers Cost Taxpayers $153B a Year. Picche goes on to detail how vast the problem of minimum wage workers on public assistance is in America, stating, “Almost three-quarters of enrollees in the country 's biggest public support programs are members of working families”.
If the minimum wage were to be raised to $12 an hour, the wages of 35 million workers in America would increase, as declared by David Cooper, a senior economic analyst for the Economic Policy Institute. This economic boost would not only offer workers the ability to detach from public assistance programs, but also give them greater purchasing power and reinvest the money back into American …show more content…
Seattle, Washington is a great example of how to enact a steep wage increase with minimal impact on small businesses. Employers who have more than five hundred employees are required to the minimum wage of all employees to at least $15 an hour in a period of three years, as reported by Peter Kelley for the University of Washington. At the same time, businesses with fewer than five hundred employees have small, incremental wage changes that occur over a period of seven years to allow the business to slowly adjust to the new state minimum, Kelley details. This model has proven to be successful thus far, although it is still in its early stages so long-term effects have yet to be