Premium Essay

Act Is the Minimum Wage Sustainable

In:

Submitted By ganesha
Words 515
Pages 3
Scope of Topic: Is a $15 minimum wage in large American cities fair to the affected businesses?

On Nov 2014, San Francisco has voted to raise the minimum wage to $15 over a course of the next three years. This article intends to analyze the impact of the decision on businesses.

The ripple effects of the wage hike are felt not just businesses that employ blue-collar workforce but also by larger corporations and the US economy as a whole. The wage hike is primarily aimed at providing economic stimulus to blue-collar workforce, who must live off their hourly wage.

The article will be segmented into two parts – Fair and Unfair. Reasons that highlight both standpoints will be listed out and discussed in each segment.

Fair to US Businesses

Reduces employment and training costs. Employee turnover, ranging from 50 to 200%, is a serious problem among many businesses that employ a major chunk of the blue-collar workforce. (For example, an employer with annual turnover of 100% means that the firm is employing two different people for one position). All this translates to roughly 30 to 150% of yearly pay .

Increases consumer spending due to increase in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). Research undertaken by the federal government and also research agencies, indicates that wage hike results in approx. $50 B in spending. This increased spending can be captured by businesses in general.

GDP grows by $22B , which leads to better business. Research by EPI, a research group funded partly by labor unions, shows that increasing minimum wage boosts the economy. A better economy translates to higher opportunities for businesses.

Unfair to US Businesses

Lower profit margins at small and medium businesses (SMB). SMB drives 70% of the US economy. Mom-and-pop stores have very thin operating margins. Increasing the minimum wage can eat into their profits . Labor-intensive

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Pros And Cons Of Minimum Wage

...The minimum wage rate is introduced in this essay, with the perspectives of weighing the benefits with that of the costs of the national minimum wage. The essay goes about discovering what exactly is minimum wage and how it impacts the economy. Moreover, the advantages are compared against the disadvantages of the minimum wage rate. Furthermore, it also covers the detailed consequences of increased minimum wage after a research on what economists have surveyed about the recent increase in the minimum wage. Thus, this essay has thoroughly evaluated the pros and cons of implying with the law to allow for national minimum wage in the labor market. The minimum wage act was created in the 1938T as Fair Labor Standards Act, which makes it legally compulsory for the employers to pay their employees for the period of time worked. The minimum wage could be defined as the “minimum rate of remuneration that is must to be paid to a wage employees for the work they have done over a period of time, which cannot be neglected or reduced by individual contract and collective agreement”. The eligibility of minimum wage is that it is allotted to workers who are below 20 years old, for long as the probationary period lasts that is for almost 3 months. The minimum wage rate...

Words: 1311 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Banana Uk

...Britain’s Bruising Banana Wars 16 16 20 21 4 The banana value chain 4.1 The UK banana market 4.2  The retail price of bananas in Britain 4.3 UK banana imports 2002 – 2013 4.4  Changes in banana supply chain operations 4.5  The impact of supermarket price wars on producers 4.6  Producer prices vs costs of sustainable production 22 22 23 5  The market environment for bananas 5.1  Evolution of the global banana trade 5.2  Consolidation of retailer power and UK price wars 5.3  The impact of competition law on banana prices 38 6 Fairtrade’s alternative approach 6.1  General background to the Fairtrade system 6.2  Fairtrade bananas – scope and scale 6.3  airtrade: the benefits and F constraints for farmers and workers 2 3 About this report 3.1 Fairtrade’s involvement in bananas 3.2 Research objectives and approach 3.3 Methodological note 7  Achieving a sustainable banana industry 7.1  inclusive market An for smallholders 7.2  Thriving banana farming communities 7.3 Decent work 7.4 Living wages 7.5 Workers’ rights to unionise 7.6 Taking full account of externalities 7.7 A new approach to pricing 56 8  Conclusions and recommendations 66 9 Appendices 9.1 Appendix 1 Methodological note 9.2  Appendix 2 Description of banana production and...

Words: 31335 - Pages: 126

Free Essay

Describe How Political, Legal and Social Factors Impact on 2 Organisations and Their Stakeholders P6 Including M3

...P6M3 How does political, legal and social factors impact business activities of selected organisations and their stakeholders Nike Political factors: Politics can Nike.in both negatively and positively through changes made to tax, labor and national security laws. For example, politicians can raise taxes directly on businesses or on individuals, which ends up costing the company in the long run as people spend less money on goods and services. Alternatively, Nike profit when citizens receive tax incentives. Nike would respond accordingly to the games of politics. From increasing interest rates to adjusting their demographic models. Legal Factors: Businesses can be affected by many aspects of government policy. In particular, all businesses must comply with the law. They must also consider the impact of any forthcoming legislation on their operations. This may require taking action before the legislation comes into effect. One issue that affects manufacturers and retailers of electronic goods is the disposal of these products at the end of their life. Recycling is high on the public agenda. There are government initiatives to promote more recycling. These initiatives are sometimes backed by legislation. For example, the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations are designed to reduce the amount of electronic waste going to landfill sites. Businesses must obey these environmental laws. However, a company that goes further by taking other measures to minimize...

Words: 1020 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Minimum Wage

...Minimum wage is defined as the lowest possible income that an employer can legally pay an employee. This ensures that all people are fairly paid and not defrauded by companies or businesses. Minimum wage is now a staple in 90 percent of countries in the world (Minimum). Even with these minimums, a person’s lifestyle is hard to maintain. Sustainability, in my opinion, is the ability to keep or maintain a certain amount of physical or mental property. In this light of sustainability, minimum wage is not a sustainable amount of money in which to survive with a basic quality of life. There are many supporters and objectors to the minimum wage debate. Supporters say that increasing minimum wage increases the workers earning power and wages. Objectors say that increasing minimum wage only leads to unemployment due to small companies’ inability to pay workers. Also the increased inflation rate of goods only hurts the economy, which leads to many jobs being lost, mainly the jobs held by minimum wage patrons. Although this is a heated debate there is one thing to which both sides agree; something needs to be implemented so that workers are not exploited by businesses. Economists are exploring the viability of minimum wage, the standard minimum wage payments, and if there is anything we can do to keep the world on an equal playing field. There are many thoughts and opinions on minimum wage. Minimum wage was put into practice to keep businesses from taking advantage of the “small people...

Words: 1906 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

Pay Gap

...Women of all ethnicities working full time in the United States earned an average of only 78 percent of what men made in 2013. While this largely gender wage gap is an essential statistical illustration of how women take home less money than men across the country, it is vital to consider the specific elements: A number of different things, including race and ethnicity, interact to affect earnings. After studying the wage gap for women of color, for instance, it becomes clear that on average, women of color experience a much greater wage deficit than white women. Women of color are more likely than white women to be pushed into the lowest-earning occupations in the service sector and in sales and office jobs. This trend is mainly noticeable for Hispanic women. Working women in 2014, 62 percent of Hispanics were bunched into just two job sets—service occupations and sales and office occupations. This is linked with 57 percent of blacks, 51 percent of whites, and 44 percent of Asians in the same job categories. Unlike most developed nations, the United States lacks federally mandated paid family and medical leave and paid sick days. These policies allow caregivers to balance family responsibilities with their jobs, and lack of access means that women, who often bear the brunt of family care, will have to take time off without getting paid to care for themselves, sick family members, or new children. The end result is that women lose out on pay, promotions, and other benefits that...

Words: 802 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Nike Case Study

...Nike was established in 1972 by former University of Oregon track star Phil Knight. Nike has $10 billion in annual revenues and sells its products in 140 countries. Nike has been dogged for more than a decade by repeated accusations that its products are made in sweatshops where workers, many of them children, slave away in hazardous conditions for less than subsistence wages. Many reporters, TV shows, companies and organizations have repeatedly exposed negative comments towards Nike. For example, a “48 Hours” news report aired on October 17, 1996 regarding a Nike factory in Vietnam, which was visited by reporter Roberta Baskin. The reporter discovered that Nike hired millions of workers who are literate, disciplined, and desperate for jobs at wages lower than minimum wage. Another example of the criticism against Nike came from a newsletter published by Global Exchange. The newsletter uncovered that the majority of Nike shoes were made in Indonesia and China, countries with governments that prohibit independent unions and set the minimum wage at rock bottom. Nike formulated a number of strategies and tactics to deal with the problems of working conditions and pay in subcontractors. In early 1997, Nike also began to commission independent organizations such as Ernst & Young to audit the factories of its subcontractors. Finally, on May 12, 1998 Nike founder Phil Knight spelled out a series of initiatives designed...

Words: 1638 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Free Trade vs Fair Trade

...With globalization creating a world economy, and world trade growing substantially, we are all uniquely interconnected. International trade, and policies surrounding it are a key discussion point for politicians and citizens of nations worldwide, with poverty and development often mentioned when discussing these subjects. As the World Bank puts it, “Trade is a key means to fight poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals. It allows countries to import ideas and technologies, realize comparative advantage and economy of scale, and foster competition and innovation to increase productivity and achieve higher sustainable employment and economic growth.” (World Bank, 2013) Many economists have attributed much of the global economic growth down to free trade agreements, with the relaxing of tariffs, duties and quotas seen worldwide. Despite the widespread adoption of free trade agreements, fair trade is still relatively minimal. Some proponents of fair trade have compared it to the Code of Hammurabi, the earliest known legal code which claims the law is to ‘promote the welfare of the people and to cause justice to prevail in the land, to destroy the wicked and the evil that the strong might not oppress the weak’ with the opinion that fair trade can be used to prevent incredibly rich people and organisations from using trading relationships in the oppression of the vulnerable and weak and impoverished which is what occurs in free trade. (Northcott, 2006) Influenced by theorists...

Words: 2709 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Ethics and Sustainability

...such obligations not just between a customer and a vendor, but also on how the vendor treats its employees and how things like packaging and dumping of waste can hinder a potential business transaction. Sustainable purchasing is a growing global trend. Increasingly businesses, governments, non-profits and other organizations are integrating social and environmental objectives into the purchasing process as a means to reduce their environmental footprint, leverage social benefits and foster a sustainable economy. The City of Edmonton as an example, has a policy statement that aims to bring about environmental and social improvements both locally and globally. It has also set minimum performance and standards required for its suppliers which translates to its Supplier Code of Conduct. The Government of Canada spends billions of dollars per year in procurement of goods and services. With this monetary spend using public funds, it has a responsibility to maintain the confidence of the vendor community and the Canadian public in an accountable, ethical and transparent manner. Thus a supplier code of conduct will help achieve this responsibility. II. Sustainable Purchasing Policy – Adding Value in Public Procurement As per the City of Edmonton, its sustainable purchasing policy encourages staff to purchase quality products and services at competitive prices while considering key environmental and social benefits over the entire life-cycle of the product or service...

Words: 1129 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Exploiting Human Dignity

...behavior leaves the worker in a poor and destitute condition. Under the Philippine Constitution, it is a state policy that “the State affirms labor as a primary social economic force. It shall protect the rights of the workers and promote their welfare” (Philippine Constitution Art. II, Sec. 18). Ideally, the law must side with the workers since they are practically powerless and voiceless in the face of capitalist industry. Labor exploitation is the inhumane cost of gaining national economic prosperity which is truly appalling and must be condemned as an ethical response to this unjust act. This paper aims to explain and provide an exposition of the exploitation of the labor sector and that these acts of exploitation must be greatly opposed. The concrete acts of labor exploitation that are opposed in this paper are contractualization, circumvention on provision of employment benefits, inhumane wages and other unfair labor practices. The Agony of the Labor Sector: Context and Issues at Hand Why and how does labor exploitation occur? The very injustice done to the labor sector begins with the problem of the materialistic conditions of society. There is a phenomenal misappropriation of capital, land and other material goods which in turn give rise to an imbalance distribution of power to the population. Due to the accumulation of power and wealth to only a small portion of the population, there is an imbalance in terms of power and the means of selfdevelopment. The...

Words: 2425 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Wal-Mart Case Study on Csr

...fighting hunger, empowering women and providing access to healthy, affordable food. The essay will try to argue the problems of Wal-Mart dominating the world in the retail business to create great profit by giving low wages to the employee according to Milton Friedman and utilitarianism. Also, it will discuss how the plans announced by Wal-Mart deal with the global responsibility. Moreover, how should government involve in this situation. Problem: Low-wages for the Employee 1. Milton Friedman According to Milton Friedman, an American economist and philosopher, the most important social responsibility of a corporation is to maximize profit for its owner- stockholder (Friedman, 1970). He suggested that if a corporation put the focus on being socially responsible, it would make the corporation less competitive with those competitors who did not put much focus on social responsibility. For the act of Wal-Mart to provide only low wages and little benefit to the employee, according to Friedman, it is actually reducing the operation cost of the company, hence, maximizing the profit. Moreover, Friedman also stated that when the corporation is maximizing the profit, it must follow the basic rules of the society. This actually support Wal-Mart action, as the wage given to the employee is...

Words: 1616 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Wage Bill

...Issue 4, pp. 258-269. The issue of the minimum wage permitted by law increments has been disputable since the initiation of the base wage law in 1938. The minimum wage permitted by law, which incorporates tyke work laws, was established to shield American specialists from exploitation and poverty during tough economic times (Schuldt, Robert; Woodall, Davis; Block, Walter E., (2012). Despite the fact that the law achieved what it was planned to at the time, increments in the minimum wage permitted by law through the years have delivered higher unemployment rates and higher destitution levels. As the minimum wage permitted by law expands, managers are compelled to dispense with representatives who are not living up to expectations up to the current the minimum wage permitted by law level and contract better-gifted individuals who are justified regardless of the wages they are paid. Expanding the minimum wage permitted by law causes an increment in unemployment among specific populaces for this very reason. Totally dispensing with the minimum wage permitted by law is not the answer for the issue, however in the event that the minimum wage permitted by law stays at its current level for a couple of more years, it may rouse the minimum wage permitted by law workers to accomplish more to ensure their own budgetary future. The civil argument over raising the minimum wage permitted by law has been a hotly debated issue after President...

Words: 1824 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Wage Bill

...Issue 4, pp. 258-269. The issue of the minimum wage permitted by law increments has been disputable since the initiation of the base wage law in 1938. The minimum wage permitted by law, which incorporates tyke work laws, was established to shield American specialists from exploitation and poverty during tough economic times (Schuldt, Robert; Woodall, Davis; Block, Walter E., (2012). Despite the fact that the law achieved what it was planned to at the time, increments in the minimum wage permitted by law through the years have delivered higher unemployment rates and higher destitution levels. As the minimum wage permitted by law expands, managers are compelled to dispense with representatives who are not living up to expectations up to the current the minimum wage permitted by law level and contract better-gifted individuals who are justified regardless of the wages they are paid. Expanding the minimum wage permitted by law causes an increment in unemployment among specific populaces for this very reason. Totally dispensing with the minimum wage permitted by law is not the answer for the issue, however in the event that the minimum wage permitted by law stays at its current level for a couple of more years, it may rouse the minimum wage permitted by law workers to accomplish more to ensure their own budgetary future. The civil argument over raising the minimum wage permitted by law has been a hotly debated issue after President...

Words: 1825 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Wage Bill

...Issue 4, pp. 258-269. The issue of the minimum wage permitted by law increments has been disputable since the initiation of the base wage law in 1938. The minimum wage permitted by law, which incorporates tyke work laws, was established to shield American specialists from exploitation and poverty during tough economic times (Schuldt, Robert; Woodall, Davis; Block, Walter E., (2012). Despite the fact that the law achieved what it was planned to at the time, increments in the minimum wage permitted by law through the years have delivered higher unemployment rates and higher destitution levels. As the minimum wage permitted by law expands, managers are compelled to dispense with representatives who are not living up to expectations up to the current the minimum wage permitted by law level and contract better-gifted individuals who are justified regardless of the wages they are paid. Expanding the minimum wage permitted by law causes an increment in unemployment among specific populaces for this very reason. Totally dispensing with the minimum wage permitted by law is not the answer for the issue, however in the event that the minimum wage permitted by law stays at its current level for a couple of more years, it may rouse the minimum wage permitted by law workers to accomplish more to ensure their own budgetary future. The civil argument over raising the minimum wage permitted by law has been a hotly debated issue after President...

Words: 1825 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

No Work

...A Study on MGNREGA and its impact on wage and work relation BY ABHISHEK THAKUR SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK TATA INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES DEONAR, MUMBAI-400 088 2011 A Study on MGNREGA and its impact on wage and work relation A Project Report Submitted to Academic Council of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master’s of Arts in Social Work By Abhishek Thakur School of Social work TATA INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Deonar, Mumbai-400 088 2011 Dr. Manish K. Jha (Research Guide) Signature of Research Guide Date: 3rd March, 2011 Declaration I, Abhishek Thakur, hereby declare that this dissertation titled “A Study on MGNREGA and its impact on wage and work relation” is the outcome of my own study undertaken under the guidance of Dr. Manish. K. Jha, Associate Professor, Centre for Community Organization and Development, School of Social Work , Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. It has not previously formed the basis for the award of any degree, diploma or certificate of this institute or any other institute or university. I have duly acknowledged all the sources use by me in the preparation of this dissertation. Mr. Abhishek Thakur Date: 3rd March’ 2011 Certificate This is to certify that the dissertation titled “A Study on MGNREGA and its impact on wage and work relation” is the record of the original work done by Mr. Abhishek Thakur under my guidance. The results...

Words: 30402 - Pages: 122

Premium Essay

Employment Relationship

...From the point of employer’s view, employer wants the company to running in maximum productivity and efficiency by offering as lower and simpler as possible to employee’s salary working condition. In contract, employees are willing to receive higher reward and better working condition according to their capacity. However, in most cases, employees do not receive equal treatment due to they have relative less bargaining power than employers within employment relations. Basic on this situation, Australian policymaker establish rules including the National Employment Standards, modern awards, Occupational Health and Safety to solve the inequity between employers and employees. The National Employment Standards, which is a component of Fair Work Act 2009 take effect on 1 January 2010, is a good example of how the state government to protect Australian employees’ right. It is introduced by the Rudd...

Words: 1987 - Pages: 8