...indefinitely on a job that pays $7.25 an hour? That is the national minimum wage set by the Fair Labor Standards Act in 2009. Projecting this to a 40-hour work week over 50 weeks it comes to a total of $14,500 a year. This is just above the U.S poverty level for a family of 2, but below the poverty level of $22,050 for a family of 4. Despite the fact that the minimum wage has been increased 3 times since 2007, it is almost $3.00 below what it was nearly forty years ago in purchasing power. It has not kept up with inflation. If it had, the minimum wage would be $10.74 per hour. In other words, the minimum wage is a far cry from being a living wage which is a wage that is high enough for fulltime workers to provide a decent life for themselves and their families. For the benefit of American citizens and the economy, the minimum wage must be increased! Those opposed to an increase in the minimum wage focus on a number of assumptions suggesting it would be a bad idea. Under close examination, all of their arguments fall apart. One of the main arguments for not raising the minimum wage is that it is a job killer. The reasoning is the increase in salary decreases profits and results in cutbacks in hiring. However, a study at the University of California, Berkeley, has shown that raising the minimum wage does not have a negative effect on employment. An analysis of those states that independently increased the minimum wage “had job growth slightly above the national average.” Another...
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...Washington State which already has the highest minimum wage in the country; as she notes "SeaTac, home to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport went a big step further, raising its minimum wage to an unprecedented $15." However, as the name of the town points out, SeaTac's main industry is the International Airport. While the business community in this town may not be truly representative of the national business climate, the same monotonous arguments against a living wage are present. Consequently, the tired remarks from those against a living wage are listed and argued against by the author. They include the age-old claims of business owners, more specifically from those claiming to represent the small business owners. While the loudest voices speak of the...
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...use only. You can order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers here or use the "Reprints" tool that appears next to any article. Visit www.nytreprints.com for samples and additional information. Order a reprint of this article now. September 26, 2010 Wage Laws Squeeze South Africa’s Poor By CELIA W. DUGGER NEWCASTLE, South Africa — The sheriff arrived at the factory here to shut it down, part of a national enforcement drive against clothing manufacturers who violate the minimum wage. But women working on the factory floor — the supposed beneficiaries of the crackdown — clambered atop cutting tables and ironing boards to raise anguished cries against it. “Why? Why?” shouted Nokuthula Masango, 25, after the authorities carted away bolts of gaily colored fabric. She made just $36 a week, $21 less than the minimum wage, but needed the meager pay to help support a large extended family that includes her five unemployed siblings and their children. The women’s spontaneous protest is just one sign of how acute South Africa’s long-running unemployment crisis has become. With their own industry in ruinous decline, the victim of low-wage competition from China, and too few unskilled jobs being created in South Africa, the women feared being out of work more than getting stuck in poorly paid jobs. In the 16 years since the end of apartheid, South Africa has followed the prescriptions of the West, opening its market-based economy to trade...
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...Course code: | ebc1009 | | Group number: | 46 | | Tutor name: | Emre Ergin | | Writing tutor name: | Kirsty Donald | | Writing assignment: | Main Paper (Task 10) | | number of words: | 1990 | | carina.grosseentrup@maastrichtuniversity.nl Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Government intervention 3. Government intervention to reduce income inequality 3.1 In-kind transfers 3.2 Minimum wage 3.2.1 Effects of minimum wage on labour market 3.3 Income tax 4. Conclusion 1. Introduction Although income grew by almost three percent per year for all income classes in the period from 1950 to 1980, the ones that were mostly blessed with the highest income growth were the top earners (McDowell, 2012). Income can differ enormously between the different classes of a society and the range between the top earners and those at the bottom of the society becomes larger and larger. Income inequality is a wide discussed topic by all social classes. The well earning upper-class, people who have to struggle with a minimum living wage and the shrinking middle-class, which has to worry most about its future living situation, are affected by it (Mankiw, 2012). Economic inequality can, therefore, be described simply as a contrast between the economic conditions or situations of different individuals or of different classes of a society (Champernowne & Cowell, 1998). The gap between rich and poor can have positive as well as negative effects...
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...market. This leads to price reduction in the once expensive product since new and similar products begin to emerge. Pricing therefore becomes a sensitive issue in competition. Rothbard (n.d.) also concluded that competition leads to the betterment in the standards of the market competitors compared to other markets. ii. It promotes entrepreneurship and innovation (Pmiranda2857, 2009; Rothbard, n.d.). The ability of a business to produce goods and services for consumers brings out the best in any business entity. Competing businesses are always busy looking out for new ways to get ahead of each other by introducing new products and technology in their quest to stay on top. Entrepreneurship basically involves taking risks for success or failure. This...
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...they perceive the product is worth. In the same vein, an employee will only work for a wage that he deems appropriate. If the employer lowers the wage, fewer workers will desire the job. These are a few of the reasons why the free market principle has many benefits. However, in a free market there can also be market failures. Market failures can arise from a multitude of situations such as pollution, or extreme low wages in areas of poverty. In a free market, a company could cause massive amounts of pollution and not have to bear the market cost of that pollution. The society as a whole, including people who do not benefit from the cheaper product, are the ones dealing with the polluted environment. Currently our government has been discussing a raise in the minimum wage. President Barack Obama is pushing for this bill and has many supporters. A rise in the minimum wage will be a major business issue for the next year and presidential election. Pros: Raising the minimum wage some enticing benefits to the American people and also has some strong logical arguments. One of the supporters for a raise in the minimum wage is U.S. Congresswoman from Florida’s 24th District Frederica Wilson who recently wrote an article titled, Raising the Minimum Wage: Good Ethics and Good Economics, which discusses the market failure of low wages. Wilson bases her argument on that a rise in the minimum wage is good ethics and good...
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...Although the terms “minimum wage” and “living wage” are used interchangeably, there is a significant difference between these two. Minimum wage is usually determined by the government, while a living wage is the amount required to live a safe and decent life with access to basic amenities including education, recreation and saving for retirement. There are many possibilities that minimum wage falls below the living wage for its failure to fulfill the basic needs. Therefore, a living wage is a far more realistic yardstick of minimum income than the minimum wage. Although living wage is a better and realistic than minimum wage, it is difficult to have auniform minimum wage reflecting the living wage accurately. Living wage varies from state...
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...no one wants to attempt. In one case that made it to, a Vietnamese court recently found a Korean supervisor guilty of beating workers and extradition may be sought for the accused sexual molester who fled. In Indonesia 24 discharged Nike workers are challenging the legality of their dismissal before the country’s Supreme Court (Saporito 3). These are major breakthroughs in the court systems to have someone tried and convicted in these distant countries whose courts are often corrupted. Factory conditions are consistently getting press here in the U.S., as many are angry with Nike for not providing for their overseas employees. The following account is of the conditions in a Chiniese factory: Twelve hour shifts several days a week; wages as low as 16 cents and hour; 16 workers to a dorm room; pregnant women fired. Workers are not allowed to talk. There is constant pressure to produce—workers are yelled at. If you don’t meet your high production quota you must stay until you do-without pay. The factory is noisy, filled with dust and fumes. Workers have fainted, overcome by the long hours...
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...Kelby Storm Rough Draft The minimum wage in America is a problem that is continuing to grow. This can be fixed by raising the minimum wage. In Webster's college dictionary "minimum wage" is defined as “the lowest hourly wage that may be paid to an employee” (“Websters College Dictionary” 845). The minimum wage determines what a human makes per hour which in America is not where it should be. At a job there is a low that can be set for how much the minimum is per hour worked. Many places put it at minimum wage just so that they can make as much money for the company without losing a bunch to pay the employees who are the one that keep the business running. Minimum wage is a very debatable topic as people view it as it is too high and others...
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...ethical issue because all of the clothing was made in Saipan. While Saipan is technically part of the U.S., it does not have to follow the same labour laws and standards as North America. As a result, GAP customers falsely believed the clothes they were purchasing were American made and subject to the strict policies and regulations America must follow. GAP followed through with the deception of consumers, which only began to tarnish their image. The second ethical issue surrounding GAP was the implementation of its “Code of Conduct” but the failure to enforce it. In 1993, GAP created a Code of Conduct aimed at preventing discrimination, fair wages relative to national standards, no employment of children, and no penalization for union formation. The Code of Conduct was to be signed by the individual suppliers in order to uphold the agreement. However, the Code of Conduct was not effectively enforced. In El Salvador, a GAP supplier, minimum wage standards were not met, and children were not only employed but also were not compensated for their overtime efforts. This is an ethical issue because GAP provided a hostile work environment in which workers right were no longer...
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...already headquartered in the United States, many of the same employment laws will apply, but some wont; specifically those having to do with operating a business in Arizona. First let’s focus in on the federal employment law that are most pertinent to the establishment and operation of your new facility. Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 The "Wages And Hours Worked: Minimum Wage And Overtime Pay" (2009) website indicates that the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) is administered by the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) establishes minimum wages, overtime pay, recordkeeping and child labor standards for employees who are paid at least $1,700 in a calendar year or work more than eight hours a week. FLSA requires that employees be paid a minimum of $7.25 an hour. This is slightly lower than Arizona’s minimum wage standard, but I’ll cover that under the Arizona specific employment laws below. It’s important to note that you must post and keep posted the minimum wage provision outlined by FLSA in conspicuous place within your facility. You’ll need to ensure that records are well kept for all nonexempt employees regarding their hours, wages, etc....
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...foreign country, you have to find a way of taking the control. So yes, Nike should be held responsible for working conditions in foreign factories that it does not own, but of course you have to weigh how much influence a company like Nike can have regarding working conditions. Establishing an independent monitoring association like the “Fair Labor Association” (FLA) is a good way to improve bad labor standards. 2. What labor standards regarding safety, working conditions, overtime, and the like, should Nike hold foreign factories to: those prevailing in that country or those prevailing in the United States? In the article you can read that labor standards in the US and in foreign countries are very different. Everybody knows that minimum wages and working conditions in Asian countries are very bad. Nike is not the only company who takes “advantage” of that but obviously many people do not like Nike and are determined to do everything against it. If I was the chief of audits at Nike I would do everything to stop those negative publicity so that the image does not get damaged anymore. My first step would be the general workplace safety. In the text it is...
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...jobs we get and also the wage rate (Parkin et al 2012). The labour market is a place where workers and employers interact with each other in order labour for wage. Employers in the labour market compete to hire the best labour force while workers compete for the best satisfying job (William E, 2013). The government intervene on this market to regulate workers being exploited from employers, the intervention also create problems for both the workers and employers. This essay will discuss the advantages and disadvantages on government intervention on this market. Firstly, we will discuss the advantages and disadvantage of minimum wage on labour force followed by other government interventions such as taxation. There are several advantages of the minimum wage on workers. The minimum wage could benefit low wage workers (Hui T.W 2013), it could also lead to skill upgrading which will enable workers to earn higher pay is premised on existing skill training and increased opportunities of workers. A general job-specific, professional and executive training course has been implemented by the Singapore government which is being funded to increase workers employability and skills. It also motivates employers to seek improved skill workers which will increase productivity in line with the higher paid wage. Therefore, minimum wages provide a platform to skill upgrading and wage increase whereby enhancing workers to reach their full potential. The minimum wage increases the living standard...
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...open with 25 employees in Austin, TX. While the construction company will add 130 new employees to its 650 employee workforce in Arizona. The most relevant employment laws we agreed upon are, Texas and Arizona minimum wage laws, Title VII of the Civil Rights act of 1964 and Equal Pay act. According to ("Texas Work Force Commission", 2011) Texas follows the federal minimum wage of $7.25. In order to remain complaint, employers must pay their employees the minimum. Employees are allowed to bargain with employers for a higher pay if they feel their qualification exceed the minimum pay. Employers who are found in violation may be fined up to $10,000. According to ("Industrial Commission of Arizona", n.d.) an Arizona employer is required to pay employees at least $7.90/ hr. Failure to comply with Arizona Minimum wage act will result in “a civil penalty of at least $250 for the first violation and at least $1000 for each subsequent or willful violation. Special monitoring and inspections may also be imposed. Additionally, if an employer fails to maintain the required records, it is presumed that the employer did not pay the required minimum wage. An employer has the right to rebut this presumption with evidence that the employer paid the employee the required minimum wage.” "Industrial Commission of Arizona" (n.d). Equal pay act is the right for men and women to have equal pay in the same work establishment. The job does not have to be exactly the same. However, if the positions...
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...The Child with Minimum Unfair Discrimination Park University Abstract Labor law arose due to the demand for workers to have better conditions, the right to organize, or, alternatively, the right to work without joining a labor union, and the simultaneous demands of employers to restrict the powers of workers' many organizations and to keep labor costs low. It is this low labor cost that some say led to the use of abuse of Child Labor. This paper explores how labor laws or employment laws surrounding child labor have changed. Although Labor Law covers a wide variety of individual laws, all of which focus and a paper can be written on each one, this paper will be focusing on Child Labor. After centuries of incidents, courts across the nation have found that business owners have now, more than ever, the duty to inspect, maintain, and in many cases, provide adequate training to employees in regards to child labor laws. The Child with Minimum Unfair Discrimination Let’s start with the basics: What is “Child Labor”? Child labor is the employment of children under an age determined by law or custom. This practice is considered exploitative by many countries and international organizations. Child labor was not seen as a problem throughout most of history, only becoming a disputed issue with the beginning of universal schooling and the concepts of laborers’ and children's rights. Child labor can be factory work, mining or quarrying, agriculture, helping in the parents'...
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