Pros And Cons Of Minimum Wage

The debate in America on whether minimum wage should be raised or not is a complicated one. On one side of the debate is the argument that if the U.S. raises the wage we will cause a large number of workers to become unemployed due to companies needing to offset the cost by laying other workers off. On the other side of the debate proponents of an increase maintain that by raising it we will open doors for a better economy. The authors of “A New Gilded Age” examine why the U.S should raise the minimum wage (A new Gilded Age, 2009) and offer some valid arguments to support their points.
The editorial, “A New Gilded Age” suggests that now is the perfect time for an increase in minimum wage in the United States. The authors argue that the Fair Labor Standard Act was signed into law for a reason and that we are no closer to achieving that goal then we were when it was signed. They contest that the while the economy is getting better, profits are only going to those at the top of the pay scales and the workers have yet to see any of the gains. They also argue that contrary to the belief that if a wage increase went into effect the economy would suffer, none of the studies …show more content…
While this sounds like a major issue, the authors clarify that while there have been countless studies done on the effect of minimum wage, none have “consistently found a statistically significant correlation between an increase in minimum wage and job loss.” They estimate that an increase in the minimum wage would, in fact, add $32 billion in economic activity and generate roughly 140,000 new jobs. (A new Gilded Age, 2009) This only makes sense as when a person has barely enough to feed and clothe their family they cannot afford to spend it on extras. If they were to be brought above the poverty line they would be able to justify buying some