The Importance Of Minimum Wage

Improved Essays
The whole country is filled with employers, employees, and consumers, one or more of which we categorize ourselves as. Therefore, minimum wage affects our entire society one way or another. Much of today 's society works long weeks and still struggles to feed themselves and their families. While there are many suggestions to how minimum wage should be across the country, it is not an issue that the federal government should be concerned with. The monetary value of minimum wage should increase but still fluctuate between each state government based on the standard of living in their particular area.
Minimum wage should be a topic the federal government oversees but does not control. Giving the federal government too much power over the subject causes states to be unfairly represented. The Department of Labor on Minimum Wage explains how, “The minimum wage does not increase automatically. Congress must pass a bill which the President signs into law in order for the minimum wage to go up” (1). The federal government makes the minimum wage a flat rate across the country based on what they believe is best for the overall economy. If each state were able to establish a minimum wage value based on the areas standard of living and necessities then the economy would boost as a total. Gradually more and
…show more content…
"In the 13 states that boosted their minimums at the beginning of the year, the number of jobs grew an average of 0.85 percent from January through June. The average for the other 37 states was 0.61 percent.” (Neuman 1). As our world continues to develop with medicine and technology, prices slowly inflate and make it harder for individuals to survive off of 7.25 an hour. I believe the government must take that into account and provide changes in order to stay up to date with society

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Minimum wage is a relatively new concept in the labour market. It was created with the idea that minimum wage will be a stepping stone into a better paying job in mind. As the years have gone by, minimum wage jobs have evolved from supporting teenagers and giving them the necessary experience in the work field to supporting families. It’s this change in dynamics that fuels the argument that minimum wage should increase to a living wage. What people fail to realize is that minimum wage exists for a reason and should it be increased; the positive impacts are outweighed by the negative impacts in the economy.…

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Why Minimum Wage Should Not Be Raised: Minimum wage is one of the most discussed topics in the U.S, whether or not it should be raised or lowered. It has drastically increases since it first started at 0.25 in 1938 (Politics of minimum wage) to now 7.25 in 2009 (Politics of minimum wage). Despite the poverty rates in America, minimum wage should not be changed, because it will just be an accessory to raising production cost. Raising minimum wage would not necessarily ruin the economy, but it would raise the production costs and the pay for every employee, not only would it raise production cost, but it would also lower employment rates and raise hours worked by one person. If the employee does not meet the requirement, then the company’s revenue…

    • 349 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The federal minimum wage is the lowest amount of money a wage earner can earn. Each state has a minimum wage, too, but it can’t go below the federal limit. Some people disagree as to whether or not it’s enough to live on. I don’t think the federal minimum wage should be increased. There are several reasons that support my claim.…

    • 288 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Raising Minimum Wage

    • 370 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Recently, many people are calling for an over 100% increase in the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $15 an hour. There is a claim that it would be good for the economy in many ways. It is believed that raising the minimum wage would increase spending within the economy, which would enable businesses to grow and hire more workers, and the cycle goes on. The reality is that minimum wage jobs are designed for an unskilled high school student who is learning how to balance a job and other aspects of their life.…

    • 370 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Raise Minimum Wage

    • 212 Words
    • 1 Pages

    Minimum wage has been a big issue in this country for a long time. There are different reasons why minimum wage should be raised and why it shouldn't. “Fast food workers make less that $9 dollars on average” (Fast food workers). “Many states have raised minimum wage why can't we”(Fast food workers).Raising the minimum wage might even mean that we will have to increase our tax pay because the more money we make the more taxes we pay. Even though raising minimum wage is important because people can't live a full life off minimum wage we still don't need to raise it almost $3 maybe just $1.…

    • 212 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Minimum Wage Debate

    • 278 Words
    • 2 Pages

    With the 2016 presidential election quickly approaching, the minimum wage has become a hot issue of debate among both Democratic and Republican candidates. Due to vast the social justice and economic implications contained in the idea of minimum wage laws, opinions on the issue range across a wide spectrum. First, there are those who are proponents of a minimum wage as a means of combating income inequality and promoting economic belief. Typically, proponents see a raise in the minimum wage as an opportunity to stimulate the economy by providing people with more money to spend in the economy, decreasing the expenses and need for social welfare programs and allowing businesses to hire more people and increase revenue through increased consumer…

    • 278 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Raising The Minimum Wage

    • 1158 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Laurie Coburn was a reliable person to interview because she worked for nonprofit Raising the minimum wage will reduce the help of government for social programs because higher wages cut the need for assistance for services like food stamps. Millions of Americans rely on the government for basic needs. These needs include child care, health care, food services, etc. Most of the people who rely on the government already work full jobs and still struggle to get by. The government has to spend money to help these people when they could be spending their money on education or on poverty.…

    • 1158 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Many of our representatives in Washington have been discussing the advantages of adjusting the minimum wage. Many people are looking at the short term gains of having more money in their pockets. Raising the minimum wage, however, would affect the economy of the United States of America negatively, hurt the private sector, and would stunt the growth of the United States economy. Employers do not feel an obligation to hire a laborer if the minimum wage has been raised to a greater amount than the work itself is valued. Once the facts are established, it is very evident that a raise in the minimum wage would damage the recovery of the United States economy.…

    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    While there are twenty-nine states that have minimum wages above the federal minimum wage, there are twenty-one states at or below the federal minimum wage. Although the federal minimum wage is supposedly to be the living wage, it should be increased because it can promote economic activity and spur job growth, it can reduce income inequality, and it is well below the living wage. First, increasing the federal minimum wage can promote economic activity and spur job growth. A federal minimum wage hike can stimulate economic activity by putting money…

    • 1452 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The federal minimum wage was first introduced during the Great Depression by Franklin Roosevelt. Minimum wage started off at $0.25 an hour and has been increased several times to finally have reached an hourly salary of $7.50. Minimum wage has been increased 23 times because it has become clear that one cannot live and or raise a family from the hourly amount minimum wage offers. In the 2016 election raising minimum wage was one of the many questions that caused debates between people in America. After doing my research and hearing a great deal of debates, I have made my decision that minimum wage should not be increased during this time.…

    • 736 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Minimum Wage A hot topic across the United States is the debate about raising minimum wage. In Iowa the minimum wage is seven dollars and fifty cents. Some states have higher minimum wages but that could be due to the cost of living in that state. The United States’ minimum wage is seven dollars and fifty cents which most states follow. New York’s minimum wage is nine dollars an hour.…

    • 1764 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Minimum Wage Effects

    • 1401 Words
    • 6 Pages

    With that being said, the state law declares “in cases where an employee is subject to both the state and federal minimum wage laws, the employee is entitled to the higher of the two minimum wages (“Minimum Wage”, n.d.). The role congress has in determining the national minimum wage is quite simple. With that being said, the house of representatives and the senate are both presented with bills of pros and cons for raising the national minimum wage. In my opinion, it is highly unrealistic for congress to pass a higher minimum wage at the rate some politicians are requesting. As stated, the national minimum wage is currently $7.25, some politicians are asking the rate to be changed to as high as $15.…

    • 1401 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The minimum wage is a controversial political issue. Americans’ views on the minimum wage law vary widely; some citizens believe that it should be abolished entirely, others think that the minimum amount should be expanded to match the rate of inflation. Raising the minimum wage does not come without its issues. However adjusting the minimum wage to match inflation, the United States would see an increase in economic activity, a reduction in poverty, and a reduction in race and gender inequalities.…

    • 1202 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Minimum Wage Speech

    • 979 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Good morning fellow classmates, I appreciate the privilege to present a speech on my policy which is about why the federal government should not increase the federal minimum wage past the existing one. Those of you that are employed and get paid the minimum wage are aware that as of January 1st, 2017, the minimum wage escalated to $10.50 an hour. Of course, the thought of earning additional money by the hour sounds astonishing, but what if this causes negative effects on other people or groups. Even though people may argue that raising the minimum wage can be beneficial in different ways, I’m here to tell you the truth about the real outcomes of raising it. First of all, one of the many groups that will be greatly affected by the raising of the minimum wage would be companies or businesses as well as their employees, particularly diminutive ones.…

    • 979 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Millions of people and families would benefit from an increase in the minimum wage. Today the federal minimum wage is currently at $7.25, but should be at nearly $10, or better yet even higher. But the last time Congress voted to raise the wage to its current rate of $7.25 an hour was seven years ago. Since then, the cost of life 's essentials have shot up. Groceries cost 20% more, a gallon of gas costs 25%more, and average tuition at a community college increased 44%.…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays