The Case For A Higher Minimum Wage - 1659 Words

Rachel Dorf The Case for a Higher Minimum Wage In 1938, the Federal Government established a minimum wage through the Fair Labor Standards Act, during the Great Depression. Its stated purpose was to keep American workers out of poverty and increase consumer purchasing power to help stimulate the economy. President Franklin Roosevelt, understood that the minimum wage should be a living wage, he stated â€Å"by living wages, I mean more than a bare subsistence level — I mean the wages of a decent living.† Today, the Minimum wage is critical for ensuring that hard work is rewarded with fair pay. However, its value has eroded substantially, factors such as inflation and rising prices are decreasing its purchasing power, and the minimum wage is no longer what it used to be, despite decades of economic growth. Today, a family can no longer live on minimum wage; and a single person working full time on minimum wage is barely above the poverty line. When President Obama gave his 2013 State of the Union address, he advocated raising minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10-yet a year later, this still hasn’t happened. For many working Americans a higher minimum wage will make the difference between living in poverty or not, furthermore it provides a stepping stone into the middle class for many families. If the minimum wage is increased to equal a current living wage, the income inequality gap will decrease and the quality of life for those living on minimum wage salaries will increase,Show MoreRelatedPros And Cons Of Raising The Minimum Wage1122 Words   |  5 PagesSince 2009, the federal minimum wage rate for employees has been $7.25 per hour. In retrospect, this is hardly enough pay to take care of one’s self-- let alone a family with children. If a person were to add up the average cost of living for one week and then compare it to the average amount of money earned in minimum wage for that week, it would be apparent that there is little to no extra money for emergency situations. Increasing the minimum wage has been a major controversial issue; DemocratsRead MoreMinimum Benefits Of Minimum Wages1399 Words   |  6 PagesMinimum wages are described as  Ã¢â‚¬Å"the minimum amount of remuneration that an employer is required to pay wage earners for the work/services performed during a given tenure, which cannot be reduced by collective agreement or an individual contract†. Minimum wages can be established by statute, competent decision authority, a wage board, a wage council, or by industrial or labour courts.   The significance of minimum wages is to shield workers against disproportionately low pay. They help safeguard anRead MoreMinimum Benefits Of Minimum Wage1359 Words   |  6 PagesMinimum wage is described as  Ã¢â‚¬Å"the minimum amount of remuneration that an employer is required to pay wage earners for the work/services performed during a given tenure, which cannot be reduced by collective agreement or an individual contract†. Minimum wage can be established by statute, competent decision authority, a wage board, a wage council, or by industrial or labour courts.   The significance of minimum wage is to shield workers against disproportionately low pay. They help safeguard an equitableRead MoreThe Benefits Of Raising The Minimum Wage706 Words   |  3 Pages Minimum wage is a difficult number to decide on because it affects different income earning citizens in different ways. According to Principles of Microeconomics, by N. Gregory Mankiw, minimum wage is a law that establishes the lowest price for labor that and employer may pay (Mankiw 6-1b). Currently, the minimum wage in the United States is $7.25 per hour. For many years politicians and citizens have argued on what should be the minimum wage that would benefit the economy and society in generalRead MoreThe Price Of Minimum Wage1406 Words   |  6 Pagesanalyse and draw conclusions on minimum wage in relation to its standing in business law, we first of all need to define what the meaning of the term is. National minimum wage was introduced in 1998 through the national minimum wage act. This enforced that employers would pay each employee a set value set by the government per working hour. One of the main benefits of this was that the most low skills jobs within society received a fair wage. Setting the price of minimum wage is a complex task as the mainRead MoreThe Minimum Wage War1167 Words   |  5 PagesLabor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) or otherwise known as the Wages and Hours Bill. This new law created a maximum forty-four hour workweek, guaranteed â€Å"time-and-a-half† for overtime hours in certain jobs, banned oppressive child labor, and established the nation’s first minimum wage. By definition, a minimum wage is the lowest wage permitted by law or by a special agreement (such as one with a labor union). Throughout the years, the minimum wage has been a central debate topic for the socioeconomic worldRead MorePersuasive Speech Outline For Non Rising Of Minimum Wage Essay1228 Words   |  5 Pagessupport the non-rising of minimum wage. ___________________________________________________________________________ Introduction Attention getter (teaser): How many of you believe we in the state of California should have a higher minimum wage? Well we shouldn’t and I’m going to tell you why. Significance (why important to them?): A lot of people believe that because you re getting paid a higher minimum wage that it’s benefiting you but in reality that’s not the case. The purpose of my speechRead MoreThe Minimum Wage Debate1637 Words   |  7 PagesThe minimum wage debate brings about a range of reactions from different people. There are those who believe that there shouldn’t even be a minimum wage and that wages should be determined by the markets. On the other hand, we have those who vigorously argue for increasing the wage minimum citing inflation, the poverty line and worker productivity. Regardless, we do have a federal minimum wage rate in the United States at $7.25 per hour, with some states having a higher minimum wage than the federalRead MoreShould The Minimum Wage Be Raised?1307 Words   |  6 PagesSHOULD THE CURRENT MINIMUM WAGE BE RAISED TO $15.00? Fred Wehmer Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Author Notes Fred W. Wehmer, Professional Aeronautics, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Contact: wehmerf@my.erau.edu ABSTRACT Fred W. Wehmer Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Rolf Hemmerling /ECON 211 11 October 2015 This paper will explore the pros and cons of raising the current minimum wage to $15.00. It will start with the history and reasons for the minimum wage. It will cite theRead MorePublic Policy Is Minimum Wage1486 Words   |  6 PagesAn important matter in public policy is minimum wage. Researchers Neumark and Wascher states, â€Å"It has been one of the highest controversy topics in the political arena.† Laws regarding minimum wage have been imposed by the federal government and changed within the years since 1938 when former president Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards (FLS) from $0.30 to $7.25 an hour. Previously in the labor force, those in the mining, manufacturing, and transportation industries only compromised