For years now the issue of how to handle the minimum wage in the United States has been a hotly debated topic upon many politicians. Currently, the federal minimum wage is $7.15 with the lowest minimum wage requirements being at $5.15 per hour in Georgie and Wyoming. With the cost of living rising every year and an unchanging minimum wage, many workers are struggling to make ends meet. In a hope to ease the economic burden of the minimum wage workers the Obama Administration is pushing for new bill called the Raise the Wage Act which will increase the minimum wage statewide to $12 by 2020 and raise the minimum wage for workers on new federal contracts to $10.10 or higher. I fully support the Obama Administration’s minimum wage proposal, I believe that raising the minimum wage to $12 will have both long and short term positive economic benefits, including a boost to the U.S. economy, a decrease in the unemployment rate, and reduce the unequal pay between the different races and genders.
One of the main arguments used against increasing the minimum wage is that it would force businesses to fire workers which in turn would lead to a raise in the unemployment rate. Although this may be the case for some businesses, raising minimum wage would actually lead to a boost in economic activity and create more jobs nationwide, a study conducted by procon.org showed that “a minimum wage increase from the current rate of $7.25 an hour to $10.10 would inject $22.1 billion net into the
One of the main arguments used against increasing the minimum wage is that it would force businesses to fire workers which in turn would lead to a raise in the unemployment rate. Although this may be the case for some businesses, raising minimum wage would actually lead to a boost in economic activity and create more jobs nationwide, a study conducted by procon.org showed that “a minimum wage increase from the current rate of $7.25 an hour to $10.10 would inject $22.1 billion net into the