In order to determine whether or not raising the minimum wage to $15 would be beneficial to society, one must find out: the cost of living, the effect on the economy and unemployment, how taxes towards government welfare would change, and the morality of it. There is currently not any numerical data to sway the opinion either way but, past statistics and modern issues caused by the minimum can tell the story. The current minimum wage is no longer suitable in today's society. The minimum currently does not provide a living wage for earning it. A living wage entails enough income to maintain an average standard of living. To demonstrate, there are people doing important jobs that are pivotal to society, making the minimum wage. They struggle
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Firstly, a study done by the Congressional Budget office showed that raising the minimum wage to $15 would improve the wages of 16 million people while only possibly costing 500,000 jobs (Alper 1). This may seem like a large rise in unemployment, but the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that with 190 million people working it is insubstantial. Nevertheless, the improvement in wages for over 30 times as many people than might lose their jobs is more beneficial than harmful. In the aforementioned studies in Washington state, there was no loss of employment resulting from the $15 minimum wage (Ornstein 2). It must be remembered that, this should closely resemble what will happen on a statewide level everywhere. In another study conducted by economist Alan Kreuger in 1994, when New Jersey raised its minimum wage, he found absolutely no evidence that it caused job loss (Alper 1). On a slightly larger scale, in 1996 the federal minimum wage increase brought low unemployment rates in the United States as a whole (Sklar 129). Indeed the economy has changed since then, but not enough that the exact opposite could happen. By these statistics, there will be minimal to no loss of jobs, but a plentiful gain for the working …show more content…
One of these claims is that raising the wage has done nothing for the reduction of poverty rates (Meltzer 2). However, according to author Holly Sklar, increases in the federal minimum wage have lessened poverty rates (129). Another one of Meltzer’s arguments is that the people who immigrated through Ellis Island had to work extremely hard and start at the bottom (3). There are two immense issues with this position. Firstly, Ellis Island opened more than 120 years ago, the economics from then do not apply to today’s economy. Secondly, Americans are working hard; productivity has constantly increased and people still earn less than they deserve (Sklar 127). People also believe that when the minimum wage rises, a parent with 3 children who earn the income-tax credit will suffer because he/she will receive $1,417 less from the government (Meltzer 1). Referring back to the statistic by Norm Ornstein, that parent will earn $15,080 a year on the current minimum wage (2). Using the same math, a person earning $15 an hour makes $31,200 a year. Would it not seem that earning more than double yearly is more substantial than losing $1,417 in income tax credits? This argument is unsupported and patchwork at best so, it provides no real evidence against the $15 minimum
Firstly, a study done by the Congressional Budget office showed that raising the minimum wage to $15 would improve the wages of 16 million people while only possibly costing 500,000 jobs (Alper 1). This may seem like a large rise in unemployment, but the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that with 190 million people working it is insubstantial. Nevertheless, the improvement in wages for over 30 times as many people than might lose their jobs is more beneficial than harmful. In the aforementioned studies in Washington state, there was no loss of employment resulting from the $15 minimum wage (Ornstein 2). It must be remembered that, this should closely resemble what will happen on a statewide level everywhere. In another study conducted by economist Alan Kreuger in 1994, when New Jersey raised its minimum wage, he found absolutely no evidence that it caused job loss (Alper 1). On a slightly larger scale, in 1996 the federal minimum wage increase brought low unemployment rates in the United States as a whole (Sklar 129). Indeed the economy has changed since then, but not enough that the exact opposite could happen. By these statistics, there will be minimal to no loss of jobs, but a plentiful gain for the working …show more content…
One of these claims is that raising the wage has done nothing for the reduction of poverty rates (Meltzer 2). However, according to author Holly Sklar, increases in the federal minimum wage have lessened poverty rates (129). Another one of Meltzer’s arguments is that the people who immigrated through Ellis Island had to work extremely hard and start at the bottom (3). There are two immense issues with this position. Firstly, Ellis Island opened more than 120 years ago, the economics from then do not apply to today’s economy. Secondly, Americans are working hard; productivity has constantly increased and people still earn less than they deserve (Sklar 127). People also believe that when the minimum wage rises, a parent with 3 children who earn the income-tax credit will suffer because he/she will receive $1,417 less from the government (Meltzer 1). Referring back to the statistic by Norm Ornstein, that parent will earn $15,080 a year on the current minimum wage (2). Using the same math, a person earning $15 an hour makes $31,200 a year. Would it not seem that earning more than double yearly is more substantial than losing $1,417 in income tax credits? This argument is unsupported and patchwork at best so, it provides no real evidence against the $15 minimum