...Minimum wage has changed many times throughout the years. There are many people who are affected by the changes that are made. Many believe that raising the minimum wage is a good idea and have pushed for the increase. Minimum wage has many effects on the economy: helping families with the cost of inflation, helping businesses thrive, and can also cause job loss. When minimum wage is raised it creates more money for workers. The boost in pay for families helps them to buy necessities, such as food, clothing, housing, and transportation. When products become more expensive, it is hard for families who only make minimum wage to purchase these items. Government will then tend to step in by increasing the minimum wage to an amount that can help with these expenses. “In his State of the Union address, Obama pressed to raise the hourly rate in stages to $9 an hour in 2015, up from the current $7.25, and index it to inflation. The change, should it become law, would boost the wages of 15 million Americans, according to the White House (Luhby, 2013).” When minimum wage is raised it will help “lift 900,000 families out of poverty and increase the incomes of 16.5 million low-wage workers in an average week (Lowrey, 2014).” Increasing the price of minimum wage can help businesses to thrive. When more people are being paid an increased amount than before, it would cause them to increase spending after receiving their paycheck. With receiving more money, families will tend...
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...Should UK’s National Minimum Wage be increased? "I think Britain can afford a higher minimum wage. I think we have worked hard to get to this point and we can start to enjoy the fruits of all that hard work." This was said by George Osborne the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Second Lord of the Treasury of the United Kingdom. George Osborne has signalled that he is willing to raise the national minimum wage from £6.31-an-hour to £7-an-hour, an above-inflation increase. The National Minimum Wage was set up in 1998 to protect low-paid workers; however increase in the UK National Minimum Wage will cause more harm to the economy, employment sector and even the society than the proposed good. Students will leave their primary aim of getting educated to go in search of jobs; employers will employ less number of people thereby increasing unemployment; the economy will suffer lack of growth that might get Britain into bigger debts and probably a recession. Researchers from the Respected Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said Britain has more teenage drop-outs than in most other countries. Almost one in five young people in the UK are not educated to A-level standard which is a shocking figure. Increasing the national minimum wage will encourage high school student to drop-out and go in search of jobs. What does the future hold for the upcoming generation? The society of today is looking to this upcoming generation to...
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...only get paid minimum wage. The federal minimum wage is set at $7.25, as of 2009. Over the past 79 years, the national minimum wage has been raised 22 times (Minimum Wage Mythbusters). The wage has been increased due to inflation, or the decrease in value of currency. With inflation, everyday objects cost more than they did 70 years ago. The minimum wage today is less compared to the minimum wage of 1981. The base pay needs to be raised for the good of the people, and the good of the country. Increasing minimum wage in the United States will reduce its poverty, boost economic activity, and benefit and reward...
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...The debate about minimum wage and the effect it has on all aspects of an economy is one that has created differing and often conflicting viewpoints amongst economists. When looking at something so fundamental as the minimum wage, four main groups within an economic context will be impacted in some way or another; they are the firms, consumers, the labour force and the government. Minimum wage law is always a contentious issue due to the wide ranging impacts it has over the aforementioned groups, often leading to a number of contentious and often conflicting viewpoints. Economists themselves have had their trials and tribulations over minimum wage arguments, with some saying until the data is so sophisticated, “the conflicting ambitions of...
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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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...The debate over minimum wage is a pivotal issue that affects millions of workers and businesses. The minimum wage is the lowest legal compensation that employers can offer to employees, a figure that can influence the quality of life, economic stability, and the purchasing power of a workforce. The passage “The Fight for Fifteen Movement Is a Costly Job Killer” by David W. Kreutzer, explains that increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour could have negative economic impacts. Kreutzer said higher wages could lead to higher prices and less hiring, hurting businesses and customers. The passage “Minimum Wage Increase Proposal Does Not Go Far Enough” by C. J. Polychroniou, has the opposite opinion. Polychroniou shares that the minimum wage cost has not changed in over 10 years. Not only has the minimum wage not increased in recent years, but the price of living has skyrocketed. As such, discussions around minimum wage often revolve around its impact on poverty reduction, employment rates, economic growth, and the overall fairness in the distribution of wealth. This complex and multifaceted topic invites a closer examination of how changes in minimum wage policy can ripple through society....
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...Raising the minimum wage would help get the economy moving again and recover from recession. Many advantages will occur by raising the minimum wage such as creating a positive impact on working families, businesses, and state economies. By increasing workers incomes, the economy will move forward due to the rise of demand. In addition, worker productivity will be improved and there will be more job employment opportunities. By creating more jobs, the significant issue of unemployment will decrease. Raising t he minimum wage is essential for establishing a sustainable economy and living wage for the people. An increase in the minimum wage will boost worker productivity and increase employee morale. Business efficiency and loyalty throughout the work place will improve. The author Kathlene McDonald mentions the importance of benefiting the living wage in her article “Same Goals, But Another Way Of Getting There” by arguing that “raising wages would create fairer working...
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...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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...Among the hot topics in Washington, increasing the federal minimum wage is seen as both a necessary measure, or the single largest cut to small business of this era. Politicians debate but a general consensus by renowned economists are clear: Increasing the federal minimum wage to $10.10 would be beneficial to the economy, especially in the lower and middle classes. The individuals making wage are not overwhelmingly teenagers. A majority of the people making under $10.10 are women, average aged 35 and support more than one person (“Minimum Wage, Who Makes It?”). Because of these slanted figures compared to non-minimum wage jobs, increasing the federal minimum wage to $10.10 has the capability of bringing up the salary of 28 million Americans,...
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...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...
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...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...
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...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...
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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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...Professor Bajwa 13 November 2013 Against Raising Minimum Wage In my opinion, more people are hurt by a minimum wage increase than are helped by it. Increasing the minimum wage helps some low wage workers in the short run but is detrimental to the majority of society in the long run. An increase in the minimum wage helps some low wage workers in the short run. If a worker earned less than the new minimum wage, it is beneficial to them to get an increase in their hourly wage, as long as the prices of goods and services stays the same and the company they work for is not forced to downsize. In spite of a temporary benefit to one group of workers, an increase in the minimum wage is harmful to several other groups. Employers, some low wage employees, and society as a whole are hurt by the increase. Employers are harmed by an increase in the minimum wage. The increase causes a company’s cost of operation to go up. Higher input prices decrease a company’s profits. Because of the higher cost of labor, an employer cannot employ as many workers. This causes a decrease in the company’s productivity, which also decreases their profits. Small businesses especially have a difficult time accommodating increases in minimum wage because they do not have as large of a budget to work with. Some low wage workers lose their jobs as a result of an increase in minimum wage. The company they work for may decide to let some of their low wage employees go to offset the increase in the cost...
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...argument advanced in favor of raising the minimum wage is that it would improve the overall standard of living for minimum wage workers by providing them with a more appropriate income level to handle the cost of living increases. A boost to economic growth is another potential advantage of increasing the minimum wage, as consumer spending typically increases with increases in wages. A higher minimum wage would put more discretionary dollars in the pockets of millions of workers, money that would then flow to retailers and other businesses.However, opponents of an increase argue that raising the minimum wage would likely result in wages and salaries increasing across the board, thereby substantially increasing operating expenses for companies that would then increase the prices of products and services to cover their increased labor costs. Increased prices mean a general increase in the cost of living that could...
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