The federal minimum wage of the United States is $7.25 an hour. This is the baseline that all states have to abide by. This does not mean that the minimum wage in all states is $7.25 an hour but it is the baseline that each state cannot drop below. The minimum wage in the United States should be raised to at least $15 an hour in order to support the economy and increase the standard of living.
When the minimum wage was introduced in 1938 with the Fair Labor Standards Act it was met with acclaim. This is because it eliminated underage child labor which was widespread in the 1930’s. It also stated that the minimum wage would increase with inflation inflation the minimum wage would also increase, which it has over the last century. However, aAs of late the minimum wage has not kept pace with increases in the cost of living.not increased but the cost of living has. …show more content…
This has led to a movement to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour for all workers. This would allow for a decrease in poverty and an increase in overall well being in Americans. Americans would be able to afford better housing that is closer to their work which would lead to a decrease in lateness and tiredness on the job. An increase would also allow for workers without health care to afford it more easily thus reducing sick days and days off from work because they would be able to afford better medication, and be able to treat their bodies better. In a study done by Economic Roundtable on the effects of increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour in LA county it was shown to have good socioeconomic impacts on the area. There would be more stable housing, reduced costs that come with training a new employee, and less employee turnover. Most of the people in LA county that are earning less than $15 an hour are retail workers, as shown in a 2011 study from the American Community Survey. These workers would benefit the most from the wage increase as it would help their lives the most since at the moment they are not paid enough to reach the standard of living. People think that the wage hike would only benefit teenagers as they are the stereotypical ones to work in retail but this is false. It has become common today to say that by increasing the minimum wage you are just moving money from one person's pocket to another but that is not true. If the small consumer is given more money there is a greater probability they will spend it in a local area than overseas or to investors out of state as the business would. By giving the worker the money you are supporting the local economy and therefore supporting other businesses which would assist in the adjustment to an increased minimum wage. This is also commonly said as an argument against a minimum wage hike since small businesses would have no way to support multiple workers at $15. This can easily be avoided by having a staggered increase in wage. This means that over the next 20 years you increase the wage by incremental amounts so that the local economy has time to adjust to the increased prices that would accompany the change. A number of people criticize the increase saying it would only help teenagers because they’re the ones that work minimum wage jobs but this is untrue. The US Department of Labor released statistics stating that a hike in minimum wage would not mainly help teenagers but 36 year olds. The report said that 89% of the people working at $15 an hour are not teenagers and 28% of those working under $15 an hour have children meaning that they need the increased income. So when people say that it only helps teenagers they are wrong. The increase in wage would help millions of people who are working and living below standard. In The Book of Unknown Americans we see Mayor’s father, Rafa, fired from his job as a cook at a diner. Mayor says in the book “For fifteen years, my dad had been working at that diner. Fifteen years of taking the bus to the
When the minimum wage was introduced in 1938 with the Fair Labor Standards Act it was met with acclaim. This is because it eliminated underage child labor which was widespread in the 1930’s. It also stated that the minimum wage would increase with inflation inflation the minimum wage would also increase, which it has over the last century. However, aAs of late the minimum wage has not kept pace with increases in the cost of living.not increased but the cost of living has. …show more content…
This has led to a movement to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour for all workers. This would allow for a decrease in poverty and an increase in overall well being in Americans. Americans would be able to afford better housing that is closer to their work which would lead to a decrease in lateness and tiredness on the job. An increase would also allow for workers without health care to afford it more easily thus reducing sick days and days off from work because they would be able to afford better medication, and be able to treat their bodies better. In a study done by Economic Roundtable on the effects of increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour in LA county it was shown to have good socioeconomic impacts on the area. There would be more stable housing, reduced costs that come with training a new employee, and less employee turnover. Most of the people in LA county that are earning less than $15 an hour are retail workers, as shown in a 2011 study from the American Community Survey. These workers would benefit the most from the wage increase as it would help their lives the most since at the moment they are not paid enough to reach the standard of living. People think that the wage hike would only benefit teenagers as they are the stereotypical ones to work in retail but this is false. It has become common today to say that by increasing the minimum wage you are just moving money from one person's pocket to another but that is not true. If the small consumer is given more money there is a greater probability they will spend it in a local area than overseas or to investors out of state as the business would. By giving the worker the money you are supporting the local economy and therefore supporting other businesses which would assist in the adjustment to an increased minimum wage. This is also commonly said as an argument against a minimum wage hike since small businesses would have no way to support multiple workers at $15. This can easily be avoided by having a staggered increase in wage. This means that over the next 20 years you increase the wage by incremental amounts so that the local economy has time to adjust to the increased prices that would accompany the change. A number of people criticize the increase saying it would only help teenagers because they’re the ones that work minimum wage jobs but this is untrue. The US Department of Labor released statistics stating that a hike in minimum wage would not mainly help teenagers but 36 year olds. The report said that 89% of the people working at $15 an hour are not teenagers and 28% of those working under $15 an hour have children meaning that they need the increased income. So when people say that it only helps teenagers they are wrong. The increase in wage would help millions of people who are working and living below standard. In The Book of Unknown Americans we see Mayor’s father, Rafa, fired from his job as a cook at a diner. Mayor says in the book “For fifteen years, my dad had been working at that diner. Fifteen years of taking the bus to the