Research Question: Historically, how did an increases in minimum wage affect the fast food sector in Texas versus the fast food industry in California from 1990 to 1999?
On 1894, New Zealand was the first country to officially establish a national minimum wage and in 1912, Massachusetts was the first state in the United States of America to establish a minimum wage. This idea quickly gained popularity and other states soon passed their own minimum wage laws. In 1938, President Franklin D Roosevelt passed the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was passed which established a federal minimum of $0.25 an hour. The minimum wage created to help stabilize the economy after the Great Depression by establishing a minimum standard of living. The FLSA intentionally did not link the minimum wage to the rate of inflation; it can only be raised with the United State’s Congress's approval. The minimum wage is especially utilized in the fast food industry because of the absence of unions and many of the employment positions are for unskilled workers and require low human capital. In some states, the state minimum wage is higher than the federal minimum wage, for example, California, while in other states the federal and state minimum wages are the same. Selecting Texas and California allows analysis of the effect of raising the federal minimum wage when the federal and state minimum wage are the same …show more content…
There is debate on the social benefits of a minimum wage and how it helps to protect the health and well-being of employees. Despite the intention of protecting workers, there is also controversy regarding how increased wages impacts firms, especially smaller ones. This is an important topic as minimum wage is a popular political topic and it is necessary to look at historical data to see if the benefits of raising minimum wage outweigh the negative
On 1894, New Zealand was the first country to officially establish a national minimum wage and in 1912, Massachusetts was the first state in the United States of America to establish a minimum wage. This idea quickly gained popularity and other states soon passed their own minimum wage laws. In 1938, President Franklin D Roosevelt passed the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was passed which established a federal minimum of $0.25 an hour. The minimum wage created to help stabilize the economy after the Great Depression by establishing a minimum standard of living. The FLSA intentionally did not link the minimum wage to the rate of inflation; it can only be raised with the United State’s Congress's approval. The minimum wage is especially utilized in the fast food industry because of the absence of unions and many of the employment positions are for unskilled workers and require low human capital. In some states, the state minimum wage is higher than the federal minimum wage, for example, California, while in other states the federal and state minimum wages are the same. Selecting Texas and California allows analysis of the effect of raising the federal minimum wage when the federal and state minimum wage are the same …show more content…
There is debate on the social benefits of a minimum wage and how it helps to protect the health and well-being of employees. Despite the intention of protecting workers, there is also controversy regarding how increased wages impacts firms, especially smaller ones. This is an important topic as minimum wage is a popular political topic and it is necessary to look at historical data to see if the benefits of raising minimum wage outweigh the negative