...arguments for and against raising the minimum wage are almost unavoidable in the labor market, with each side having individually strong points. Advocates say that anyone who works 40 hours a week or more deserves to earn a decent living wage and get out of poverty, while opponents argue that high wages cost jobs. Most of the arguments for increasing the minimum wage are more emotional pleas and theories with very little evidence for achieving the desired outcome. The truth is that raising the minimum wage does not lead people to get out of poverty, but what it does is make it more difficult for younger workers to find entry-level jobs to build their skills. By raising the minimum wage, experts argue that it will make it more difficult for younger workers entering the workforce to get a job. Employers will be hiring workers with more experience and skills, since they can attract these workers with higher wages. Therefore, raising the minimum wage may be causing more harm to a younger workforce looking to find their first job to gain relevant work experience. Our country needs to focus on the inconvenient truths about the real impact around raising the minimum wage. Some of these inconvenient truths are highlighted by the research that clearly shows how raising the minimum wage may cause more harm than good, and have significant consequences to the younger and entry-level workers vs. the emotional theories that state increasing the minimum wage will get more people out of poverty...
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...Minimum wage The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 established the minimum wage, overtime pay, record keeping and child labor standards (Minimum Wage - Wage and Hour Division (WHD). For the purpose of this assignment, the primary focus will be on minimum wage. The minimum wage is a price floor set at a minimum price for labor per hour. The intention for minimum wage is to help alleviate poverty, workers are guaranteed hourly pay, protection of minimum living standards, and employee labor wage equality. Currently, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 and has been in effective since July 24, 2009. Although many states have their own minimum wage laws, which may be above the federal minimum wage, states must comply with both state...
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...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...
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...profitable employment is very important. NREGA The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (5th September 2005), according to the Legislative Department of the Ministry of Law and Justice – ‘An Act to provide for the enhancement of livelihood security of the households in rural areas of the country by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in every financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto’. The Panchayat or program officer validates applications at the village level, and the government provides a valid applicant with an employment within five kilometers and fifteen days. NREGA, UPA’s brainchild, started in two hundred districts in February 2006, spread across the country in two and a half years and now to over six hundred and twenty six districts. This was aimed towards benefitting the Indian economy and society where more than nine percent of the total labor force was unemployed. NREGA was brought into existence with an aim of - * Reducing unemployment in India by augmenting wage employment * Equally improving the purchasing power...
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...The Lowest Wage Name of Student Institutional Affiliation The Lowest Wage The minimum wage should remain at $7.25 as is the current level across numerous states. There have been numerous attempts to push for the raise of the minimum wage bill with a belief that the move will aid in improving the living standards of the poor and majority of the middle-class citizens. My argument against the rise of the minimum wage bill is based on some disadvantages that may arise due to an increment of the minimum wage bill. First, a rise in the minimum wage may hurt the middle class due to a resultant inflation of commodity prices. An increase in the minimum wage would mean that the employers would have to increase payments to the employees. With such a move, the employer would be forced to pass the extra costs to the consumers of their products hence inflation. Second, an increment in the minimum wage would be a threat to employment. Such an increase would lead to a rise in the payroll costs for the employers thus reducing or affecting their income. The consequence of this would be a reduction in employment, a decrease in hours of operation and even a reduction in the number of employees through layoffs. In fact, a study by the Congressional Budget Office shows that the proposed raise in the federal minimum wage to $10.10 could consequently lead to one million workers losing their jobs (Tejvan, 2015). The move would, therefore, burden the nation with high numbers of unemployed individuals...
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...“The most important problem that we are facing now” (Christofferson, 2013). A significant contributing factor to this is the stagnant minimum wage. Raising the minimum wage will not only decrease income inequality, but also raise millions out of poverty, spur consumer spending, and ultimately lead to a more efficient workplace and workforce. Therefore, America needs to adopt one of the currently proposed $10.00+ minimum wage policies being discussed in the political arena and ensure it is being used in a responsible way to fight these problems. The federal minimum wage has went without a change for nearly a decade twice, from 1981 to 1990 and 1997 to 2007. There have been many more multi-year gaps as well (Federal, n.d.) As a result, the minimum wage has not kept pace with inflation over the last 40 years. The purchasing power of the $7.25 minimum wage set in 2009 has already dropped by 5.8% by 2013 (DeSilver, 2013). Since 1968 the power of the minimum wage is down 23% after adjusting for inflation (Boushey, 2014). There is, however, another way of weighing the minimum wage instead of just against inflation. In 1968 the minimum wage was 53% of the average wage for hourly lower level employees, compared to 2013 when it had fallen to 36% as much (Boushey, 2014). This measurement shows that the people making the minimum wage today are not only falling behind their own historic levels, but also behind the workforce as a whole. This is a significant factor in...
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...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...
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...In the current United States of America, a high minimum wage has hurt people economically, which has been seen by poverty rates, unemployment rates, and the reduction of part-time jobs. In 2008, an economist from American University and Cornell University released their results to their study on the effects of a higher minimum wage. They reported that through 2003 to 2007, the increase in the minimum wage did not decrease poverty rates throughout the struggling urban areas of America. Simultaneously, a group of economist from Ohio State University released a study that the increase in minimum wage, but in fact increased poverty rates across America. Unlike poverty rates, there has been a significant and visible increase in unemployment rates...
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...Haigler 10.6.14 BCOM 275 The minimum wage debate is one that has been going on since we started using the term “minimum wage”. For years people have argued what amount of money is enough to truly survive on without being below the poverty line. Chances are we have all worked for minimum wage at one point or another in our life and as we grew older and had more experience we most likely went on to jobs that paid us more and used our skills more efficiently. Minimum wage is different in many states based on the states living costs such as food, rent and more. The biggest debate right now is should we raise the minimum wage to $15. Many minimum wage workers do not believe they have enough money to get by, support a family or have any fun. Although inflation is something we must deal with I do not believe we should raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. That is just not something that should be done anytime soon! Even our military makes less than that and they are putting their lives on the line every day for our freedom and these countries citizens. I’m all for raising the minimum wage gradually and keeping up with some of the costs but $15 for an entry-level position seems a little crazy. Robert Reich a Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley is an advocate for the wage increase and believes that in order for these employees to survive that they’d need that amount of money. I believe that with such a high wage increase, corporations would begin...
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...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...
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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 enough money...
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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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...Minimum wage is a controversial topic that has people on different side of if it should be increased or it should remain the same. It should be increased, but only in certain states such as california due it's expensive living cost. Across all models with a dollar increase in the minimum wage above the federal level was associated with a 1% to 2% decrease in low birth weight births and a 4% decrease in postneonatal mortality. Minimum wage has a huge effect on the economy. Minimum wage be increased in certain states such as california due it's expensive living cost. Now here are some examples of why minimum wage should be increased. Because of low minimum wage in big cities their infant mortality rates are higher than they are in other states due to how parents cannot afford to take care of their child. If minimum wage was increased by a dollar it would cut down of infant mortality. In her article, Kormo provides evidence to prove her point of how income and mortality rates are connected: “Due to low income studies show that...
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...real GDP is changing in percentage terms (for example, real GDP grew 4% last quarter). Now, we turn our attention to another important measure of the economy. We want to measure how the cost of living changes over time. The main intuition here is that, over time, peoples’ incomes and the prices of goods and services increase. 30 years ago an ice cream sundae cost $1 and a typical economics professor earned $35,000. Now, a (bad) ice cream sundae costs $4.50 and a typical economics professor earns $70,000. Main Parts of the Notes: 1. How do we measure the cost of living? a. Using the GDP price deflator b. Constructing the Consumer Price Index (CPI) c. Deriving an inflation rate from the CPI 2. How do we adjust for inflation when comparing dollar values over time? Minor Point: What are the weaknesses of the CPI as a measure of the cost of living? Measuring The Cost of Living: There are two broad measures of the cost of living: the GDP price deflator and the CPI. Both measures move together, so they paint a similar picture of the cost of living. We will briefly discuss the GDP deflator first, and then move on to the more important CPI. GDP Price Deflator: Last time we saw how we can calculate both nominal and real GDP. The idea here is to construct a measure (and index to be precise) of the cost of living using this information. Recall, the only difference between nominal and real GDP is that changes in prices...
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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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