Should Minimum Wage Be Raised?

The reason of the fall in oil prices are the constant change of demand. The need for the oil is actually stagnant. Crude oil is becoming a product of the past. Today, you can harvest energy from solar, wind, water, heat, and waves. According to The Economist, “The use of fossil fuels in the rich world is mostly falling. Emerging economies are not currently taking up the slack”.

We are arguably living in the aftereffects of a country that reached its heights of Capitalism during the Industrialization era. Prior to the introduction of machinery and railroad systems to America, the economical framework relied on a warped version of lasseiz-faire and featured wealthy descendants of British merchants who joined the colonies. Others worked menial jobs and apprenticeships to guarantee their source of income and it is safe to say that many were unhappy with their predicament --- even if they had no platform to voice this opinion. While the Industrialization Era introduced centuries of wealth to America, it also severely tipped the wealth distribution scale which can be seen extremely in events like the multiple depressions of the 19th Century and recessions in the 20th Century. In a 2013 statistic, researchers found that 53.5% of people despise their jobs. If you ask around, you 'll find that many overqualified Americans are still working menial jobs to provide for their families and that even office jobs are not that promising in terms of salary. The wealth cap for most of these citizens is around $60k~ and many, many Americans are living in poverty. There seems to be a socio-economical propaganda that is being spewed around for many years that many workers of minimum wage are lazy, entitled teenagers who have nothing better to do than sit around and collect

Would raising minimum wage benefit our society? Changing minimum wage could potentially hurt the economy. It would be nice to have an increase in pay; However it would only lead to inflation (The act of inflating or the state of being inflated Webster dictionary) with the economy.

The rent is too damn high! At least that’s what the slogan of “Rent is too damn high” political party reads. As its name implies, “Rent Is Too Damn High” Party is that rents in the city of New York are too costly. However this issue goes beyond greedy landlords; in fact it starts with one simple statement: The federal minimum wage in America is simply too low. According to a national study in 2015, for a family to be just above the poverty level, the head of the house would be required to earn 8.50 an hour, while the current federal minimum wage is 7.25. Not only does the current minimum wage not cover the poverty line, it is more than a dollar less than current poverty levels. A raise in the minimum wage would reduce the number of working Americans who are below the poverty line, decrease unemployment, and help stimulate the economy.

From the article, what I have gathered that there has been a detailed deliberation and

Should minimum wage in the United States increase? This is a challenging issue in politics today. According to Alan B. Krueger, the minimum wage, at the federal level is $7.25 and has been since 2009 (par. 1). State governments take it in their own hands and raise the minimum wage their selves (Krueger, par. 4). Congress is debating if it is necessary for the entire country to raise the minimum to $10.10 and eventually somewhere between $12.00 and $15.00 (Krueger, par. 2). But, there is an inconsistency in this topic; this is whether the minimum wage should stay the same or if it should be raised by the federal government. This inconsistency has to do with a small group in the United States that has authority over policy making, which is different

The topic on whether the minimum wage should be increased our untouched has been a hot topic in the media and political scene lately. Both the republicans and democrats have spent some big bucks lobbying their insights on the matter. There has been a lot of subjective and objective arguments that are reasonable on both the pros and cons of increasing our national minimum wage. To add to the drama associated with this topic, President Obama endorsed a bill proposing a nearly 40% rise from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour. The President has been campaigning around the country ever since his State of the Union address, pushing congress to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. Many say this is too high due to the costs of enacting such an increase, and many say this is a little low due to the increased cost of living. After looking into both sides of this debate, I realize that overall it would be better for the well-being of our nation to increase the minimum wage due to the short term and long term costs that an increase of the minimum wage could lead to. In terms of helping out the lower class and poor citizens of the United States, increasing the minimum wage level is not the answer.

There exists a schism in contemporary dialogue on a large scale over the State of Michigan’s plans to increase the minimum wage from seven dollars and fifty cents to ten dollars. Although increasing the minimum wage may seem beneficial to some, possibly stimulating the economy or increasing the standard of living for those who live below the poverty line, when looking at the economic issue through a larger lens and placing it into its context, one finds that by increasing the minimum wage, not only is the State of Michigan not addressing the most critical sector of his citizens, thereby not creating the most viable or efficient of solutions, but that this solution is likely to not even be beneficial but rather detrimental to the American economy. Our economy, already fragile, could be sent back into a recession because of policies like these. This essay will attempt to summarize and analyze the problems with raising the minimum wage both on an individual level (for each business, each individual, etc…) and also on an institutional level (how it will damage our economy).

“The minimum wage is one of the most thoroughly researched issues in economics” (“The Case for a Higher Minimum Wage”). As this New York Times quote says, one of the largest issues in economics today would be the minimum wage. The government still has not come to a resolution for the issue because they are unsure of what the negative side effects of raising the minimum wage will do to the economy. The minimum wage needs to be raised because of reasons that would benefit the national economy and improve the standard of living. One of the reasons why it should be raised is that the minimum wage has not been increased since 2009 (Lu). Since the economy has grown greatly and further jobs have been made, shouldn’t the minimum wage grow too? Another reason why the minimum wage should be raised is that no one can live off of it at its current standard. The minimum wage is occasionally referred to as the “living wage” but as of this moment in time, people can’t live off of it. Many people live in poverty because they don’t have a high enough education which means they cannot acquire a job that pays better than minimum wage. Minimum wage should also be raised because it will

The minimum wage should be increased depending on each state. Some states are more expensive to live in such as Washington and New York. The minimum wage should barely stay the same or increase in non-expensive areas. There are many different reasons to increase or decrease the minimum wage.

“Every penny makes a difference because low-wage workers make the choice between putting food on the table and paying for electricity or buying clothes for their children,” argues union official and author Beth Shulman. As society continues to grow our means of gathering necessities depletes. We begin choosing either higher education or no debt in the future. The very things we have worked for are simply taken from us all because of price and future impediments. To yield change the minimum wage should be raised to help families, boost the economy and fit the society we have now. The increase in inflation that fluctuates our economy and expenses needs to be adjusted to what the people have to give. However, there are some that seem to have the perspective that if we raise the wage it will cause more disputes. From yours truly I say “How bad could it be. We have to get worse before we can get better.”

Since 1968 Americans have lost about twenty five percent of their purchasing power. The United States federal minimum wage has not been increased since 2009, this means that minimum wage has not kept up with inflation. In America if you work Forty hours a week you should not be in poverty. The minimum wage should be increased because it has not kept up with inflation and an increase would stimulate the economy.

The real question everyone wants to know is, is the minimum wage going to increase or will it remain the same? Let's go back in time to where it all started in 1938. President Franklin D. Roosevelt set the minimum wage to $0.25 cents an hour. FDR had a great statement about minimum wage and it's not for little kids. The statement proposes "is the amount of money a family can make in order to survive." Originally that was what the minimum wage was established as. Problem is, other salaries have risen exponentially and the minimum wage has remained stagment and has not kept up with inflation. With every new president there has been an increase in minimum wage, whether it was a big jump or just simply $1.50

Although it may seem fair that if the minimum wage rises low-income people will have a chance to earn more money, it will only make the situation worse. To many people around the world, the minimum wage is very low for modern society and is not enough to support a family or even yourself. In the minds of a normal person, they may think that raising the minimum wage will increase the income of a person which will mean they have enough money to buy products. It is invalid and if the minimum wage increases, financial factors (one of inflation) will invert the perspective in which people think of increasing the minimum wages.

The economic status is unstable, and every politician who runs for office would explain their solutions for our economic crisis by creating jobs and raise wages. Recurrent debates over this topic convinced many people to believe raising the minimum wage is the key for financial problems. However, the consequences resulted in this solution will make matters worse. People are ignoring the contradictory logic between “creating jobs” and “raise wages”. These two terms are opposite from each other, in fact, raise the minimum wage will not only damage small businesses but also reduce employment.