Premium Essay

Minimum Wage In The United States

Submitted By
Words 1294
Pages 6
When examining the topic of minimum wage, it is imperative that one has a basic understanding of the United States economy, as well as an understanding of basic monetary principles. The United States has a Capitalist economy, which means that the economy is owned by private investors rather than the government, and prices and production are determined by supply and demand. Inflation, another key term when discussing money, is, principally, the devaluing of currency. This inflation can happen several ways: first, the currency becomes less rare, making it worth less and less; second, an increase in the price of goods or services without an increase in the value. One example of the latter process would be increasing the cost of labor without increasing …show more content…
By raising the cost of hiring, the government would be forcing the economy to act as though demand has gone up and supply has gone down, when, in reality, nothing has changed. This causes the economy to crash, as the economy is built on supply and demand. Here is how supply and demand works for an economy as far as the job market: the price of low-skill jobs is low - as low as the minimum wage will allow - because there is a high supply and limited openings. There is a high supply because almost anyone could do these jobs, as they require little or no training. The demand, however, is limited because there are only so many of these jobs to be offered. With so few positions available, people who wish to be competitive in the job market will work for the highest rate the employer will offer, which, in this case, is minimum wage. On the other side, high-skill jobs, such as being a doctor, are in low supply, but high demand. There is a low supply because it is a long and difficult process to earn a license to practice medicine. However, everyone will need medical attention throughout their lives, so doctors are needed everywhere, creating a high demand. In an effort to gather the best doctors in a certain area, a doctor’s office will offer the doctors more money, because if they don’t, the doctors will go to a different establishment that does offer them more money (FEE, 2012). The process of supply and demand is how prices are decided in a Capitalist economy, including the prices of

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Raising The Minimum Wage In The United States

...The job paying wage has increased in total 11.6 percent throughout all the years since 1916. The federal government set a minimum wage in a 1938 called the Fair Labor Standards Act that allowed employer to pay their workers overtime in specific job. The statewide of California minimum wage in 2021 would be five dollars per hour higher than provided by current law. Minimum wage increase a dollar in each year. Raising the minimum wage in California won’t improve the issues for poverty, workers and the business. If the minimum wage increases, it does not help to end the poverty. The prices of some goods and services would increase and the cost of living would increase. All amount of goods and services that people could buy will decrease. Consequently, people would be putting more money in the economy each year, each dollar would cause people buy fewer goods and services (Increases…Minimum Wage). It will be difficult for people who is poor to be able to provide food and a shelter for their family because everything will cost more than it used to. The book of Nineteen Eighty-Four from the author mentioned “The plaster flaked constantly from ceilings and walls, the...

Words: 647 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Raising The Minimum Wage In The United States

...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...

Words: 703 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Fast Food

...are part of an industry that has been around for centuries. Fast food industries have been around for centuries. They have played a part in structuring our economy in the workforce and the market place. They also impacted us, the consumers, on how we eat and manage our budget. When it comes to employing teenagers, unskilled, or low skilled workers, fast food industries is the answer. Fast food industries are the top employers for low wage or minimum wage earners. To understand how fast food industries became one of the top employers for minimum wage earners, we first need to understand the industry. It does not require a lot of skills to work in one of fast food restaurants. Fast food industries focused on high volumes of preheated or precooked food that were served or prepared by an assembly line (Fast Food Industry Analysis 2013). This type of system gave fast food industries the opportunity to employ workers who are willing to work on minimum wage. For a long time fast food industries have been reaping the rewards of low wage earners. “Roughly 90% of the nation’s fast food workers receive no benefits and are scheduled to work only as needed. There are a few if any possibilities for advancement. Assistant managers, a misname designed to entrap workers who are looking to build a career at these chains, are also exploited, often forced to work 50, 60, or 70 hours a week, sometimes off the clock, with no serious opportunities for promotion...

Words: 1447 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Essay On Raising Minimum Wage

...Minimum wage has been a problem in many states simply because people believe that their pay isn’t enough and should be raised to support themselves and others. But why should minimum wage be raised? I believe otherwise because the US raising minimum wage can cause problems for us, don’t you think? I believe minimum wage shouldn’t be raised. I believe that raising minimum wage can destroy businesses. The government raising minimum wage can destroy those small companies that already cannot afford to pay their employees more than the minimum wage. No company would want to lose their business because they are trying to pay employees more when they know they can’t afford it. If a person really thinks about it they will be able to see that if businesses did start to pay more than the minimum wage many people can lose their jobs. In the article, For the first time, majority of states have minimum wage above federal level, Charlene Conway a co-owner of the Carousel Family Fun Center will have to lay off staff members to be able to pay more money to the employee’s “ She might have to layoff several members of her 40 person staff and totally eliminate the younger workforce”...

Words: 595 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

The Devastating Effect of Raising the Minimum Wage

...The Devastating Effect of Raising the Minimum Wage Raising the Federal minimum wage does not reduce poverty. If legislators raise the price of low and unskilled labor, businesses would reduce the workforce. The very laborers that are pushing for raising the minimum wage are the ones that will suffer the most. An increase in the minimum wage would lead to job loss and may result in higher prices for consumers. Minimum wage increases may result in severe economic devastation. Recently in New York between ten and fifteen thousand laborers marched in an effort to persuade lawmakers to increase the minimum wage to fifteen dollars per hour. The majority of those marching were activist students and employees of fast food industries. If protesters are successful in securing a fifteen dollar per hour minimum wage up to seventy percent of them will lose their jobs. For the first time in history, if the fifteen dollar per hour wage is approved, a fully automated solution would be an economically viable solution for struggling companies like McDonalds. Several companies are nearing commercial launch of the automated burger process. “Roboburger,” an automated burger machine can produce 8,500 burgers a day while 25 employees can produce 320 per day in comparison. If the companies are only required to pay a minimum wage of eight dollars per hour and contract labor, which means no benefits, it would still be viable to hire those 25 employees. The automation over the next few years...

Words: 814 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Minimum Wage Solutions

...Minimum Wage Solutions Paper Labor Economics Minimum Wage Dilemmas There is a large push from the Democratic Party to increase the federal minimum wage. What effects could this have on American citizens? Minimum wage has been around for quite a while now, but what are its origins? What are the pros of having a minimum wage, what problems does it have potential to solve? What are the problems with having a minimum wage, and just how much do they affect the U.S. economy? What are potential alternative solutions to raising the federal minimum wage? Many different viewpoints and ideas will be discussed below, but it is difficult to fully grasp how far reaching the effects of minimum wage. The purpose for a baseline wage was set to help poverty stricken workers a fair wage for their cost of living. In June 25, 1938 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the “Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938,” which aimed to ban child labor, set maximum work weeks at 44 hours, and set minimum hourly wage at 25 cents. Roosevelt felt child labor, undercutting wages, and stretching out hours of the lowest paid workers during times of recession had a big effect on buying power even though this act affected one-fifth of the United States population at the time. Roosevelt realized a population without buying power is more than just an ethical problem but an economic one as well (U.S. Labor Department). The father of modern economics Adam Smith once stated, “But what improves the circumstances...

Words: 1752 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Increasing The Minimum Wage Essay

...CEO of a company both get paid for their work that they do for a company or business, the only difference between these two is the amount that they get paid and what their job involves. Recently there has been a request for a raise in the minimum wage, and the effects of this could negatively impact the average American citizen, small businesses and small business owners, and finally the effects on employment. Increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour, could have a lasting impact on the average American. This would drive up prices in stores because the companies would have to pay...

Words: 619 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Raising Minimum Wage

...This topic might be one of the biggest topics in our time. Raising the minimum wage, certain people think it's a bad thing but other people think differently stating that minimum wage is good. It helps the government in saving money. Giving hard working workers the money they deserve. Raising the minimum wage helps the government. It means that people will get off food stamps. Saving the government's money, and also that they don't have to be buying people's food. Saves the government about $46 billion over 10 years spending it on Supplementary Nutrition Association Program. It just saves the government by a lot. Raising the minimum is good for families. Raising the minimum means the incomes of 28 million americans would raise, and it benefits...

Words: 291 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Why The Minimum Wage Should Be Raised

...Minimum wage people make too much money without working for it. Low minimum pay in society is critical because the littlest wage creates a standard of living. The problem America faces today is that everyone is pushing for a higher minimum wage and means everyone will have a better standard of living. These people don’t realize is, what about the effects if they raised the lowest pay. The government will decide to change the minimum wage if it's what the massive of America wants and we must educate them on why the Government shouldn’t raise minimum wage. Why does the government get control on deciding what people get paid? An increased minimum wage will only negatively impact the economy by causing job loss for low skill workers, price increase on goods and services, and still would not be enough for a comfortable living. Whenever people complain about minimum wages, they don’t realize the jobs they have are meant for high schoolers, not careers....

Words: 1540 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Persuasive Essay On Minimum Wage

...Initially minimum wage was set at $0.25 in 1938 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It has been increased 22 times by congress, when I went from $6.55 to $7.25 an hour. Many people who are working for a higher minimum wage claim that $7.25 is not enough to live off of and they believe that if it were to increase, it would help create more jobs in the community and grow the economy. Although there are some with other opinions, and say that some businesses cannot afford to pay more and might have to lay off workers, reduce hiring, or even close down due to low expenses. Increases have been shown to make it more difficult for low-skilled workers with little or no work experience to find jobs or become upwardly mobile. In 1939 the Women's Party of Connecticut argued that while the minimum wage law covering women and minors was designed to protect them, it was actually harmful and the conditions placed on their employment made them less employable than men. The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), the first piece of legislation that attempted to establish a federal minimum wage, was passed by congress and signed by President Roosevelt in 1933. NIRA was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1935 as it was deemed an "unconstitutional delegation of legislative power." Elements of the NIRA, such as minimum...

Words: 722 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Ics4

...Race/ethnicity Increasing the minimum wage would substantially benefit both minority and nonminority workers. Figure G reveals that nationally, 54.1 percent of workers who would be affected are non-Hispanic white workers. Nearly a quarter (24.6 percent) are Hispanic, 14.1 percent are black, and 7.1 percent are Asian or of another race or ethnicity. As one would expect given the country’s diverse social and cultural makeup, the racial and ethnic composition of workers affected by increasing the federal minimum wage to $10.10 varies considerably by state: * The Asian or other race/ethnicity composition ranges from 1.7 percent in West Virginia to 75.9 percent in Hawaii. * The black composition ranges from less than 1 percent in Idaho, Montana, and New Hampshire to 46.5 percent in Mississippi (and 57.1 percent in the District of Columbia). * The Hispanic composition ranges from 0.9 percent in West Virginia to 58.6 percent in California. * The white composition ranges from 10.7 percent in Hawaii to 93.5 percent in Maine. Who would be benefit from Minimum Wage Act? * More than 30 million workers would receive a raise from the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013. * 88% are adults over the age of twenty, 56% are women, nearly half are workers of color, and over 43% have some college education. * More than 17 million children have a parent who would get a raise under the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013. * The average affected worker brought home approximately...

Words: 1110 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

English Essay

...reason I believe being that the federal minimum wage is too low. Minimum wage should be $15 in every state. If we want people to experience the freedom and opportunity, it can’t be done off $7.25. People have kids to provide for, colleges to attend, families to support, and so many more things. The luxury to afford to have all the “freedom” or “opportunity” the rich may have isn’t plausible for minimum wage workers. Every morning these people wake up and questions whether they have enough money for food or housing for example. Robert Reich, an American political economist, professor, author, and political commentator, made some good points on this issue. Reich also believes that the minimum wage should be $15 an hour. We both agree with federal minimum wage being hiked to $15 an hour. My reason as to why I agree with him being that Reich gives 7 very valid reasons as to why the raise should occur. The benefit over time would be well worth it. Congress instituted the minimum wage in 1938 as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act (DOL). The first minimum wage that was established was 25 cents an hour (James). The last minimum wage increase occurred in 2009, when Congress raised the rate to $7.25 an hour (AFL). The District of Columbia and 19 states have also established local minimum wages higher than the federal rate (AFL). Over the past 65 years the minimum wage has varied considerably in inflation-adjusted buying power (James). If minimum wage had been adjusted according to inflation...

Words: 2199 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Research Paper On Raising Minimum Wage

...Battle to Raise Minimum Wage Lyvonda Wadley Baker College   The raising of minimum wage will have a negative impact on the economy while $15 minimum wage increase ripples across the states. In the article The Hamilton Project explains, “U.S. policymakers continue to engage in an active debate over the minimum wage. Calls for minimum wage increases—at the federal, state, and local levels—are based on the premise that rises in the minimum wage will improve the economic well-being of low-paid workers (Kearney, M. S., & Harris, B. H. (n.d.)... Minimum wage increase would actually have a deleterious effect on the economy, low-skilled workers, unemployment, and surrounding businesses. “Congress instituted the minimum wage in 1938 as part...

Words: 915 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Minimum Wage: Most Controversies In Today's World

...Minimum Wage Minimum wage is one of the biggest controversies in todays world. In the two articles and the video, there are different ideas that are discussed. The first article that is talked over is “The argument against raising the minimum wage,” the second article is “Economists argues about minimum wages,” and the video is “Thirty Days Minimum Wage.” The one that I favor the most is “Thirty Days, Minimum Wage.” After reading the two articles and the video, I believe that minimum wage should be raised. In the first article, “The argument against raising the minimum wage,” the writer discusses why minimum wage should not be raised. For example, he states the consequences that will happen if the minimum wage was to rise; some of these include loss of jobs, an increase in consumer prices, and the likelihood of experienced workers being attracted to lower-paying jobs. If the minimum wage were to rise, many workers who have more advanced jobs might quit because of the benefits of a minimum wage job. Another idea that is brought up is the fact that higher paying and non-entry level jobs would not get paid as much. Although I am for raising the minimum wage, I do think that this suggestion is very unfair. I feel that if you went to college and worked hard for your degree, you deserve to get paid the right amount and not get a pay cut because of someone not going to college. In the second article, “Economists argue about minimum wage,” the author gives numerous thoughts on whether...

Words: 693 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

The Value of Minimum Wage

...Value of Minimum Wage The first attempt to establishing minimum wage was during the Great depression. It failed, due to the Supreme Court striking it down in 1935. Three years later, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act, as a result, a minimum hourly wage of 25 cent was inaugurate. Over a century later, Americans are still debating the merits of this fundamental portion of the New Deal. The question is, is it necessary for government to ensure that, low skills worker receive a decent paycheck, or would the economy and low wage earners be better off without government intervention. The logical response is latter, primarily because, the continuity of minimum wage would only raise the unemployment and diminish the employment for low skilled workers. The first argument is, minimum wage will escalate the raise of unemployment rate. –Its basic economics. If the price of labor increase, the demand will plummet. According to James A. Dorn article, Obama Minimum wage hike: A case of zombie economics, “A fundamental law of economics-Law of demand-states that when price of anything increase, the quantity demand will decrease…in the case of labor, this means as the price of labor increase, the number of job will decrease” (Dorn). Dorn statement validates the assertion of unemployment rate escalating while, employment plummet. However, opponents such as President Obama, disregard the law of supply and demand by, proposing to increase the federal minimum wage. During...

Words: 578 - Pages: 3