...Fight for Minimum Wage Increase President Obama is in a battle with Congress to increase the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 by 2016 not only from the economic stand point but also to improve social equality (Taylor, 2014). According to Rogers (2014), minimum wage laws encourages workers to want to put forth their best effort and adds positive value rather than hinders workers’ self-respect. The reluctance from Congress is based on a theory that helping some may result in a loss of jobs for others (Desjardins, 2014). Many business groups feel that in order hire more employees, employers must offer lower wages. Data from the Department of Labor shows the opposite. Twelve of the 13 states that raised their minimum wage have shown an increase in growth more so than lower-wage states (Taylor, 2014). Business owners who align pay with work for their employees experience positive labor effects such as less turnovers and absenteeism. The benefits are positive saving money in the long run from having to recruit, and train new workers (Taylor, 2014). Regardless of the arguments Republicans have against the minimum wage increase, the fact of the matter is that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report shows that an increase will improve income inequality with approximately 16.5 million low-wage workers would see an increase in their paychecks (Desjardins, 2014). According to the CBO report, lower and middle income workers would see an increase in their wages, while those...
Words: 580 - Pages: 3
...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 cents per hour (USDofL). The...
Words: 2140 - Pages: 9
...a significant increase in the minimum wage can affect the market economy in a negative or positive way. Basically, what the demand in the market economy is that how much of a service or product the buyer is buying and supply is how much the market is supplying for that product or service. The law of demand for a market is basically tells that if a price of a good is low, more buyers are wanting to buy more of that product or service for a low cost. If the price is high, buyers would not buy as much of the product or service for a high price and buyers would probably look for it in a different market or have a value that is not as important which is opportunity cost. If the scenario of the minimum wage of $7.25 to $10.10 per hour occurs many different markets of products and services would increase their prices in demand for the rise of minimum wage because consumers would have more money in their pockets to spend on and the markets would increase their prices on their goods...
Words: 497 - Pages: 2
...to be exact. That is not a highly profitable business. Your second example of McDonald's is not valid for another reasons. It has relatively few minimum wage workers. Most of the workers you are talking about, roughly about 70%, are employed by the franchisees, not the corporation, because 30% of the locations are owned by the corporation and the rest by the franchisees. The corporation does not set the wages of franchisee's workers, the owners of franchises do. And they are small businesses mostly. McDonald's makes most of its money from royalties from these franchisees....
Words: 330 - Pages: 2
...Increasing the Minimum Wage Jacqueline S. Nock May 19, 2014 Abstract The issue of minimum wage increases has been controversial since the inception of the minimum- wage law in 1938. The minimum-wage law, which includes child labor laws, was put into place to protect American workers from exploitation and poverty during tough economic times (Schuldt, Robert; Woodall, Davis; Block, Walter E., (2012), par.4). Although the law accomplished what it was intended to at the time, increases in the minimum wage over the years have produced higher unemployment rates and higher poverty levels. As the minimum wage increases, employers are forced to eliminate employees who are not working up to the current minimum wage level and hire better-skilled people who are worth the wages they are paid. Increasing the minimum wage causes an increase in unemployment among certain populations for this very reason. Completely eliminating the minimum-wage law is not the solution to the problem, but if the minimum wage remains at its current level for a few more years, it might motivate minimum wage earners to do more to protect their own financial future. The History of Minimum-Wage Law President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the federal minimum-wage law into effect in 1938. It was part of a larger bill called the Fair Labor Standards Act. The minimum-wage law was created to protect workers from not being paid a fair wage for the work they perform. It guaranteed workers a fair wage, ensured safe working...
Words: 1107 - Pages: 5
...Overview of the Federal Minimum Wage The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), a law that guarantees employees and youth a fair minimum wage and overtime pay. It is regulated by the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL); it mandates employers to pay all nonexempt employees a federal minimum wage no less than the determine amount set by the government (U.S. DOL, 2011). Unfortunately, the federal minimum wage still sits at $7.25 per hour and has remained the same since George W. Bush signed a law to change it on July 24, 2009 (Risher, 2013; U.S. DOL, 2011). So, why did so many government officials decline the increase of the federal minimum wage and why do they fear the positive impact that the increase will have on America? This paper intends to briefly discuss six laws, all pertaining to federal minimum wage introduced to the House of Representatives within a year and highlight one member of the senate who disapproved the law for passing. In addition, this paper will briefly point out statements made about why some Senators chose to decline the bill; and finally, this paper intends to briefly explain any legal issues preventing the wage increase and implications for management. Start of Hope: Minimum Wage Fairness United States senators and representatives have introduced numerous federal minimum wage bills to the House of Representatives in order to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) during their term. These bills were designed to either...
Words: 3510 - Pages: 15
...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...
Words: 1126 - Pages: 5
...ENG 111 10 March 2014 The Reasons Why Federal Minimum Wage Is Raised U.S. President Barack Obama signed an executive order on February 12, 2014 to raise the minimum wage for federal contract workers to $10.10 an hour starting next year and encouraged employers nationwide to increase wages for their workers. The president also announced during his State of the Union address last month that he intended to take executive action to raise wages for federal contract workers (Mason). Order to understand this issue, we are going to understand what the Federal Minimum Wage is and when started it in the U.S.A. According to the United States Department of Labor (USDL), early in the administration of the Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA), it started to be apparent that the use of the legal minimum wage was prone to producing undesirable efforts upon the financial systems of Puerto Rico and also the Virgin Island if put on all their covered industries. As a result, on June 26, 1940, an amendment was passed prescribing the establishment of special industry committees to find out, and problem through wage orders, the minimum, wage levels relevant in Puerto Rico and also the Virgin islands. The rates established by industry committees might be under the legal rates relevant elsewhere within the United States. In 1949, the minimum wage was elevated from 40 cents an hour or so to 75 cent an hour so for those employees and minimum wage coverage was extended to incorporate employees in mid-air...
Words: 1800 - Pages: 8
...Andy Smith, Advertising Department Supervisor From : Jason Vu, Advertising Associate Date : March 24, 2010 Re : New Approach for Extra Income As a consequence of the recent increase in minimum wages, there is an increase in the discretionary income of our current advertising base. People with more money tend to spend more. Our current advertising approach does not take this into consideration. This is a proposal to modify the approach in our advertising strategy so that we can take advantage of the coming shift in our advertising base and enhance our advertising revenue by expanding our potential client base. The rationale behind the proposal and its implementation will be elaborated in the following report. When people have achieved basic survival needs such as food, shelter, and relatively secured physical and financial safety, they seek to attain things that they haven’t yet possess, such as status symbols or a sense of belonging to an exclusive group. If we can encourage our existing advertisement consumers to spend their extra income, hence shift the demand of our current advertising base to consume more upscale products, then we stand to gain an expanded and more profitable set of ads buyers. This project is a market study in potential new products in which ads targeted for the new minimum wage consumers segment can be created. This project will determine the current advertising consumers’ income. The result of this project will be used in devising a strategy to create...
Words: 2374 - Pages: 10
...Should minimum wage increase? “The bottom line is that five million low-income Americans working full time for minimum wage, deserve a raise,” says Jim Clyburn. The argument that has continued for years is whether the American federal government should increase the minimum? The two opposing sides on this argument are the Republicans and the Democrats. The Democrats are for minimum wage to increase, unlike the Republicans, who are against it and think of it as a job killer. There are many reasons why the Democrats are for the increase of minimum wage. Currently, there are approximately 3.8 million people who are working at minimum wage or below it. Fewer than one in four minimum wage workers are teenagers and more than half are 25 or older. (Dickinson) If minimum wage were raised to $10.10 it would trim payrolls by less than one-third of one percent, which would help approximately one million Americans out of poverty. It has been proven by the Congressional Budget Office that the raise will not affect the number of jobs as much as people think, and the increase will accomplish more than just harmful situations. There should have been a consistent raise in minimum wage from 1968 to now, but there has not been. The federal government minimum wage should be close to $20 an hour. Tax money could potentially fund less food stamps, welfare, and other financial support for this to occur. A family of four trying to be successful and build their family is living on the earnings of being...
Words: 1107 - Pages: 5
...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...
Words: 1051 - Pages: 5
...Minimum wage is one of the number one issues in America. There are debates on whether minimum wage needs a raise or stay the same. The current minimum wage in California is $10.50 per hour. Most people that work under minimum wage work more than 60 hours a week. Those people that work under minimum wage are most likely to live in poverty. People can not earn a living on minimum wage. This is why minimum wage needs to be raised. One reason minimum wage needs a raise is because it leads to a healthier population and less premature deaths. Over the past few years, fast food prices drop while the healthier food prices increase. The author states that in “many poverty-dense regions, people are unable to access affordable healthy food, even when...
Words: 526 - Pages: 3
...the minimum wage, the time is now,” said Delegate Derek E. Davis, of Price George’s County. The increase in minimum wages has been a topic that has been on the rise with much controversy involved. President Obama wants state and lawmakers to increase the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour by 2018. Connecticut was the first state to pass the law, which will increase their minimum wage to $10.10 by January 1, 2017. Maryland is a year and half behind them, making the minimum wage $10.10 by July 1, 2018. The reason for Maryland’s delay is because they want to give businesses more time to adjust to the new and increasing price. The increases will be in steps. The first increase will be from now until July 2018, and will increase to $8 per hour on January 1, 2015. The second increase will be to $8.75 per hour in July 2016. The third increase will be to $9.25 in July 2017, and then the final increase to $10.10 in 2018. The graph below, from the congressional budget office website, shows the increases of wages over the time period. President Obama commended Martin O’Malley and other lawmakers for “leading by example” in hopes that congress will follow. However, some counties have been setting their minimum wages even higher than $10.10. Montgomery and Prince George’s counties have approved their minimum wage increase to $11.50 by 2017. However, businesses are going to be allowed to pay a lower training wage to workers under 20 years old. However, this increase in wages has...
Words: 874 - Pages: 4
...Introduction Minimum wage refers to the lowest hourly, daily or monthly wage an employee is legally entitled to when working. Minimum wage is in effect in a range of different jurisdictions with differences in the views on the advantages and disadvantages being disputed by people. Supporters claim minimum wage increases the standard of living for workers whilst reducing poverty. Opposite views are that if it is high enough to be effective then it increases unemployment, particularly among workers who are inexperienced or handicap, thus harming the lesser skilled workers to benefit the better skilled workers The effect on employment rates due to minimum wage rates is a highly contested policy within economics. The introduction of minimum wage into the market can lead to competitive employers cutting employment; this depends on the rate of the wage rises require to comply with the current minimum wage according to the “standard textbook model”. Other models have also been suggested in which a decline in the employment rate may not occur and in fact employment may increase. During my research I found a wide range of literature on minimum wages, particularly on the effects of a minimum wage policy in place. Though a lot of informative research was concluding I also found the argument between weather the effects and positive of negative on employment, both sides of the disagreement present a large amount of information supporting the theories. Research before the 1990’s mostly...
Words: 2611 - Pages: 11
...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...
Words: 2415 - Pages: 10
