...This paper discusses some of the additional effects raising the minimum wage income has on society. The United States low wage workers, namely the fast food industry workers are currently demanding higher wages. We will discuss the effect of those higher wages to businesses, the workers and those who we would not think to be affected. Effects of Minimum Wage Increases Chapter 1 Introduction Anyone who watches the local or national news has heard of the recent debate over raising the nation’s minimum wage requirements. Employees of McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King are protesting in the streets and going on strike demanding a $15 per hour minimum wage (Fast Food Workers). These restaurant chains and others do not believe the minimum wage should be raised to $15 per hour for fast-food workers. There are many arguments to support both the demand to raise the minimum wage and not to raise the minimum wage. This paper will focus on different arguments and the impacts of raising the minimum wage will have on society from different angles, the first being how employers may respond to the wage increase by reducing the amount of employees they employ. The second focuses on who the mandated increase will most likely impact. And the third and final being the artificial inflation effects on the consumer. History Raising the minimum wage is not a new idea for the United States. In 1938 congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) which ensured minimum wage of 25...
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...people by effectively raising the incomes of the poor. Many politicians argue that raising the minimum wage best increases the incomes of the working poor. However, others believe that increasing the earned income tax credit (EITC) best provides financial relief to low income families, while still others believe neither policy is necessary. This paper examines the costs and benefits of a Kentucky state-level minimum wage increase, a state-level EITC, and a combination of both. Discussion following...
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...Pierre Okpara Persuasive Paper: Raising minimum wage 3/21/15 Professor Arin Black English 102 July 24th very easily could have been the day of rejoicing for Americans around the United States thanks to the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, which amended the FLSA (The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938) to increase the federal minimum wage in steps. The first increase came on July 24th, 2007 when minimum wage was increased to $5.85, then in 2008 when minimum wage rose again to $6.55, and lastly on July 24th 2009 when minimum wage was raised to its current $7.25. Instead of raising minimum wage consistently as the years before, six long years have passed since the minimum wage has risen at all in the United States and this has left Americans to have very little to rejoice about. Not only does the government owe their citizens a raise in minimum wage, but it is long overdue. Many Americans are drowning in debt but somehow find a way to enjoy their life as comfortable as possible without the help of a higher minimum wage. For many this may seem like the norm but poverty has grown ever so steadily and there has yet to be an answer for this since July 24th, 2009. Given this, I absolutely agree the minimum wage needs to be increased in order to match the rise in costs of living which, unlike minimum wage, has risen dramatically since the last time anything was done about it. To begin, I’d like to take you deeper into the history of our rise in prices throughout the economy since...
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...Raising the Minimum Wage Student Name: Sylvie Makendi Course/Number: com /170 12/14/15 Faculty Name: Angela Grosse With $7.25 a person can maybe buy a whopper meal at burger king and a pack or chewing gum at a local convenience store. For a person working minimum wage to buy that whopper and pack of gum, they must work one hour. That is not enough to live a sustainable life. The meager wage brings forth recent discussion about whether or not the federal minimum wage should be increased. This divisive issue is especially prevalent within the bipartisan American political parties, the majority of Republicans do not want the minimum wage to be raised, and the majority of Democrats want the minimum wage to be raised. However, this issue should not be a political one because raising the minimum wage benefits everyone regardless of their political party of affiliation. There are many reasons to raise a minimum wage. In today’s society, it’s expensive to live in America and even getting day by day is tough. Raising the minimum wage will be beneficial for both workers and employers in the United States. It will put more money in people’s pockets. This money is invested back into their communities and small business which will help uplift the downtrodden economy. The growth of the national economy, the decrease in poverty and reduction in government sponsored social programs shows that the federal minimum wage should be raised to more than $ 7.25. Raising the minimum wage would...
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...Microeconomics Research Paper Minimum Wage In the United States, minimum wage has remained at a low number for several years. 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 considered a price floor and the minimum wage laws determine the lowest price possible that any employer must pay for labor. In an economic model, the quantity of supplied is greater than the quantity demanded and the minimum wage is above equilibrium price and quantity. Minimum wage prevents labor supplied and labor demanded from moving toward equilibrium price and quantity. Although the government is trying to maintain a good balance of income distribution, there are is a high amount of people that work year round and still fall under the national poverty level. The government tries to stop the rich from getting richer, and the poor from getting poorer, so they make sure that everyone is earning the same amount of money. Even if our balanced income distribution is at a good number, an increase of the minimum wage price would help our country in a lot of ways. Raising the current minimum wage is one way to reduce poverty, will help businesses grow, and could help a lot of communities as well. The first advantage of increasing the minimum wage is that it will help poor people to earn a higher income. For many workers, minimum wage is simply not...
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...Many people in the United States have witnessed and experienced minimum wage jobs earning $7.25 an hour. People have been activists of raising the federal minimum wage for a long time. This federal minimum wage standard has been used since July 24, 2009 and has not been changed since then but the question is whether or not we should raise the federal minimum wage again to help families in need. The thought of raising the minimum wage standard recently has been a popular topic. In this article, Senator Tom Harkin, Representative George Miller and U.S secretary of labor Tom Perez propose the idea of raising the federal minimum wage and what pros can come from raising the wage. They talk about how much of an impact it would have on our economy. They also take into...
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...Ayman Lam Macroeconomics June 11, 2014 Dr. De Term Paper: Minimum Wage and Economic Growth Economic Policy Institute, most commonly known as EPI, has always been a crucial factor in the effort to increase minimum wage and highlighting its positive effects for blue-collar families as well as the general economy. As of today, twenty-one states including Washington, D.C. have already advanced in setting their minimum wage above the federal minimum of $7.25; in other words, almost half of the United States workforce is now under the influences of minimum wages above the federal minimum. Therefore, EPI took the opportunity to conduct data and reports from these states, with the aid of the Economic Analysis and Research Network, also known as EARN, in order to advance economic policy at both state and regional levels, and at the same time, demonstrating the insufficiency of having $7.25 as the minimum wage. President Barack Obama, during his State of the Union, requested for a raise in minimum wage. In the late 1960’s, the purchasing power of the minimum wage was at $9.22 an hour in 2012 dollars, which is nearly two dollars above the current level of $7.25 an hour. Inflation is a cause of reducing the purchasing power of the dollar; so as a result, when the minimum wage is raised, the purchasing power of the eventual wage is less than the proposed nominal dollar value. The minimum wage is twenty-three percent less than its peak inflation adjusted value of 1968. One of...
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...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...
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...Abolish or Sustain? The Minimum Wage Debate Sarah Campbell May 8, 2013 Abstract In 1938 the Fair Labor Standards Act established a federal minimum wage. Minimum wage has continuously increased throughout the years due to interest rates and the value of a dollar. Since its introduction the minimum wage has risen from 25 cents an hour to 7.25 dollars per hour in 2009. In President Obama’s recent State of the Union Address he states, “Working folks shouldn’t have to wait year after year for the minimum wage to go up while CEO pay has never been higher.” He hopes to raise the minimum wage by 2014 to 9 dollars per hour. Following the President’s support on minimum wage increase Sen. Tom Harkin (Democrat-Iowa) and Rep. George Miller (Democrat-California) formalized a proposal known as S.460, the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 to increase the minimum wage by 2015 to $10.10. This proposal includes increasing the minimum wage (in three incremental increases of $.95) and then indexing it to inflation (“as prices rise, so would the minimum wage” (Cooper, Hall 2013)). Also, the tipped minimum wage (the minimum wage paid to workers who earn a portion of their wages in tips) would be increased in $0.85 increments from its current value of $2.13 per hour, where it has languished since 1991, until it reaches 70 percent of the regular minimum wage (Cooper, Hall 2013). However, in the current tough economic times many people argue that an increased minimum wage will only hurt and that...
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...22/06/15 The Effect of a Raise in the Minimum Wage on Employment and Profitabilty in the RMG Sector of Bangladesh, Drawing Sources From Other Developing Countries The study of minimum wages has led to many debates surrounding the topic whether a raise in minimum wage can kill businesses in profitability and employment or the change in profitability and employment is insignificant. This is a hot topic for policy makers in both developed and developing countries as a raise in minimum wage affects the economy in terms of economic growth, standards of living for the poor, survival of businesses and employment. A lot of research and literature has shown that a hike in minimum wages do not particularly affect the developed nations but the same hikes in developing countries can cause damage to firms depending on the size of the firms and their profitability. This paper attempts to show that the garments sector in Bangladesh (Ready made Garments Industry) faces the same dilemma. Since the Savar tragedy in late 2013 where a garment factory, Rana Plaza, collapsed which killed more than 1,100 people and injured and more than 2,500 people injured, garment workers and civil society demanded a raise of minimum wage from 3000 tk to 5,300 tk every month. This tragedy and similar events in developing countries lead us to think how businesses especially in the developing countries where wage rates and productivity are low can operate if minimum wage is suddenly increased threefold and why...
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...Abolishing the Minimum Wage ENGL 101 / Janet Stallard Carla Woods American Public University Abolishing the Minimum Wage Many Americans think of the minimum wage as a means of raising the income of the working people. However, the minimum wage is not the best way to combat poverty. In fact, the minimum wage does more harm than good. The list of its negative effects is a long one: it causes unemployment; it prevents unskilled workers from getting the on-the-job training they need; it encourages teenagers to drop out of school; it promotes the hiring of illegal aliens; and it increases welfare dependency. For all of these reasons, the minimum wage should be eliminated. To evaluate the minimum wage, we must first understand why it was originally created and what its historical effects have been. The minimum w age was introduced in 1938 by President Franklin Roosevelt. According to Dr. Burton W. Folsom (1998), a senior fellow in economic education for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, the driving force behind this new legislation was not the plight of the working poor but the political might of the highly paid textile workers of New England, who were trying to protect their jobs as they faced competition from Southern textile mills. The Southern mills were able to produce cloth of equal quality more cheaply than their counterparts in the North because of the lower cost of living in the South, which allowed Southern factories to pay lower wages to their workers. In response...
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...The United States’ minimum wage is absurdly lower than what is realistically required to survive in today’s economy. Hard working, impoverished citizens file countless applications for welfare and food stamps every day. These government aid programs are costing us billions of dollars. These funds could be re-appropriated for studying green technology, or for providing much needed maintenance to our national infrastructure. In any event, our system of regulating compensation for services rendered is long overdue for fresh legislation. In the 1930’s, congress passed a bill setting minimum wage at $5.25 an hour. Given the exponential inflation since that time, wages should have increased proportionately to the cost of consumer goods. Unfortunately,...
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...Fast Food Workers’ Strike Raul Valdez’s section On Thursday September 4th 2014, thousands of fast food restaurant workers walked out of their post and joined a street protest demanding a wage of $15 per hour. Fast food workers in more than 100 cities in the US joined the protest hoping to disturb the fast food chains enough to get their executives’ attention. This protest was part of the movement that was organized by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). A previous strike was organized on May this year and it took place not only in the US but in at least 33 countries like The UK, Philippines, India, Japan, and Belgium among others. The protests were supposed to be peaceful, but there were some instances of protesters blocking streets. The police had to intervene and at least 430 people were arrested. Kendall Fells, the organizer director of Fast Food Forward organization that helped organize the protest said “There has to be civil disobedience because workers don’t see any other way to get $15 an hour and a union” Protesters were hoping that their absence from work would make these fast food restaurants lose revenue and create chaos forcing executives in these establishments to accept the protesters’ demands. A similar strike took place when the Market Basket workers abandoned their posts when the Market Basket Board of Directors decided to replace their CEO. Although the fast food protest was highly organized and the majority of workers joined, some workers...
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...HRM Application Paper Coy, Peter. “How Much Am I Worth? - The Case for a $10.10 Minimum Wage.” Bloomberg Businessweek. Feb 2014: 10-13. Print. The Cost-Of-Living in Hawaii and New York are among the highest. Yet, in both states the minimum wage is set at $7.25. In his January 2014 State of the Union address, President Obama requested to raise a new federal minimum wage of $10.10 an hour. This movement has progressed within the past couple of weeks since its publication in February 2014. In the following pages, I will attempt to update and fill in the gaps where the article has left off. How would you like a 40% increase in your payroll? I bet that sounds like a great idea! How about if you and your fellow coworker’s all received a 40% raise? Even better right? Now, what if that 40% increase went through with the entire nation? Although raising the minimum wage would not increase everyone’s wage, this is where the controversy starts. Set in 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA, is the fundamental compensation law in the United States. It is the federal law that establishes a minimum wage and limits the number of hours that may be worked in a standard week. It defines two categories of employees, the exempt employees and the non-exempt employees. The exempt employees are not allowed over-time pay, and non-exempt employees who are allowed overtime. The non-exempt employees are highly effected through this issue of raising minimum wage. Non-exempt employees are given the...
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... Think back to your first job...what was your pay starting out? Entry levels jobs in the past certainly did not earn higher wages like those being fought for today. Fast food workers are raging for an increase in minimum wage-to perform jobs that don’t require a high school diploma, or college education...little to no academic requirements are needed to work at a fast food restaurant. Minimum wage in North Carolina is currently $7.25, whereas fast food workers would like to raise minimum wage to $15.00. A person with minimum skills should not receive higher than current minimum wage. Fight for $15 is a Workers Organizing Committee, a union of fast food workers raging ands striking for higher pay. This organization was founded in November of 2012. These workers believe that they are forced to live in poverty, because they earn a wage of $7.25. “We work for corporations that are making tremendous profits, but do not pay employees enough to support our families and cover basic needs.” (Fight for $15) These jobs are not meant to be careers for adults with families. These jobs are meant for teenagers that live at home and are in high school or college. Clearly, no one can raise a family off of $15,080 annual income, before taxes, if they worked 40 hours a week. But, a high school or college student can. One of the strikers says, “Low wage jobs are the fastest growing jobs in the nation, and they need to pay more.” (Fight for $15) They claim that they are ‘re-building...
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