Sanjana Balachandran
NUID: 001708212
ECON 1116
TA: Richeng Piao
Should Minimum Wage Be Increased in the U.S.?
The debate over whether or not the federal government should raise the minimum wage in the U.S. is one that has been popular for many years. The minimum wage is “the minimum hourly wage an employer can pay an employee for work” (MinimumWage). Since 2007, the Fair Minimum Wage Act established the minimum wage to increase from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour by 2009. Congress has yet to have made any changes to this set price since then, however there have been multiple pitches proposed, first to $10.10, then $12, and now many are asking to increase it to $15 (Krueger). However, some states have gone ahead and raised their state minimum wages …show more content…
Clearly, raising the federal minimum wage will help the U.S.’s fight against poverty – by making sure “people have jobs decent wage that will put them above the poverty line” (Boushey). Debaters argue that raising the minimum wage will help families support their children for a longer time than is possible today. However, it is less well known how wage raises will affect the entire U.S. economy. In the past, increases of the wage in small increments have led to fewer jobs (Neumark). With an increase to $15 per hour, such a raise has the potential risk of undesirable consequences. Former McDonald’s CEO Ed Rensi expressed his agreement last August when he stated that “a $15 hourly minimum would ‘absolutely’ kill jobs, and that 15 percent to 20 percent of small businesses would ‘go away’” …show more content…
Some employers will definitely cut jobs in response to a minimum wage increase, but others would find that an increase would be an incentive for workers, leading to a reduced turnover even though their profit will decrease. So if Congress decides to increase the federal minimum wage, it should be at a halfway point between today’s minimum wage, and the too-high pitch of $15 – and it should also be spread out over a few years. A good midpoint is suggested by Economist Alan Krueger, when he suggests that a “federal minimum wage that rises to around $12 an hour over the next five years or so would not have a meaningful negative effect on United States employment.” He further supports this argument by citing research projects done by Britain’s Low Pay Commission that find little adverse consequences of such a wage increase. 2Senator Patty Murray and Robert C. Scott proposed to “[raise] the federal minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2020. Their bill is co-sponsored by 32 senators, and supported by President Obama and Hillary Clinton” (Krueger). This proposal seems to be the most logical, as it isn’t set too high, and is spread out so as to offset any potential
NUID: 001708212
ECON 1116
TA: Richeng Piao
Should Minimum Wage Be Increased in the U.S.?
The debate over whether or not the federal government should raise the minimum wage in the U.S. is one that has been popular for many years. The minimum wage is “the minimum hourly wage an employer can pay an employee for work” (MinimumWage). Since 2007, the Fair Minimum Wage Act established the minimum wage to increase from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour by 2009. Congress has yet to have made any changes to this set price since then, however there have been multiple pitches proposed, first to $10.10, then $12, and now many are asking to increase it to $15 (Krueger). However, some states have gone ahead and raised their state minimum wages …show more content…
Clearly, raising the federal minimum wage will help the U.S.’s fight against poverty – by making sure “people have jobs decent wage that will put them above the poverty line” (Boushey). Debaters argue that raising the minimum wage will help families support their children for a longer time than is possible today. However, it is less well known how wage raises will affect the entire U.S. economy. In the past, increases of the wage in small increments have led to fewer jobs (Neumark). With an increase to $15 per hour, such a raise has the potential risk of undesirable consequences. Former McDonald’s CEO Ed Rensi expressed his agreement last August when he stated that “a $15 hourly minimum would ‘absolutely’ kill jobs, and that 15 percent to 20 percent of small businesses would ‘go away’” …show more content…
Some employers will definitely cut jobs in response to a minimum wage increase, but others would find that an increase would be an incentive for workers, leading to a reduced turnover even though their profit will decrease. So if Congress decides to increase the federal minimum wage, it should be at a halfway point between today’s minimum wage, and the too-high pitch of $15 – and it should also be spread out over a few years. A good midpoint is suggested by Economist Alan Krueger, when he suggests that a “federal minimum wage that rises to around $12 an hour over the next five years or so would not have a meaningful negative effect on United States employment.” He further supports this argument by citing research projects done by Britain’s Low Pay Commission that find little adverse consequences of such a wage increase. 2Senator Patty Murray and Robert C. Scott proposed to “[raise] the federal minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2020. Their bill is co-sponsored by 32 senators, and supported by President Obama and Hillary Clinton” (Krueger). This proposal seems to be the most logical, as it isn’t set too high, and is spread out so as to offset any potential