...New York increased their minimum wage to $15 at the beginning of this year as part of Governor Cuomo’s plan, “Built to Lead Agenda”. This plan “takes the needs of workers and businesses alike into account.” Thus, New York is trying to improve the lives of employees, without hurting the employers in the process. The effects of an increase in minimum wage to workers and companies in New York may be too early to calculate because the year has just begun. Research of other states give insights as to the results of increasing the minimum wage. If New York can increase their minimum wage from $9.70 to $15, can other states follow through? The effects of increasing the minimum wage varies. Supporters believe that an increase in minimum wage “improve...
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...to earn an income that allows only the most basic of needs. In recent years, minimum wage has become an important topic. Many businesses are against raising wages, favoring a higher profit margin at the cost of worker satisfaction. Skilled workers worry if the wages for unskilled workers increases, working in a trade or profession might not appear as lucrative. I believe that a living wage must be implemented to ensure...
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...Minimum wage is the lowest amount of money that a person can be legally paid. As of January 1st, Georgia’s minimum wage was $5.15 an hour (National Conference of State Legislature). The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, but the price remains $5.15 in Georgia for the people who are exempt from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (Johnson). Minimum wage should never be as low as it is now. The minimum wage should be increased because of the increase in the cost of living, it would spur job growth, and it would reduce inequality. Minimum wage is supposed to cover the cost of living in today’s society. As of today, the minimum wage is not enough to cover housing. When the price for these items rose, the minimum wage should have risen as...
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...issue such as raising the federal minimum wage. Proponents and critics alike tend to bolster their positions by publishing the opinions of economists who share their political bent. Does raising it have a measurable effect on the rest of the economy, including the issue of inflation? Yes. Can a rise in the inflation rate be attributed directly to a rise in the minimum wage? Not necessarily. Both sides of the debate do present persuasive arguments, but these arguments may be based on skewed or purely theoretical assumptions. There is a relationship between setting the new minimum wage and inflation, but it's more of a cart before the horse situation. Many proponents of a raised federal minimum wage support the idea of matching the new base wage to the current rate of inflation, a process known as indexing. By doing this, proponents believe the wage-earner's real spending power will also be increased. When a wage hike does not keep up with inflation, which has been the case in recent years, the workers' paychecks may get a little larger but inflated prices of goods and services actually reduce the spending power of that raise. So we know that inflation can have a detrimental effect on the real spending power, but does a raised minimum wage cause inflation? Yes and no. From an economic standpoint, inflation can be caused by any number of new or increased costs of production, including an increase in workers' wages. If a company must increase the amount it pays its...
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...Minimum Wage…Is it Really Helping the Economy Depending on who you ask, there are several opinions to whether there should be an increase in minimum wage. Some believe there will be economic growth because low-wage workers who will then spend the money on things like housing, food, and gas. This boost in demand for goods and services will help stimulate the economy and help create opportunities. Its also believed that increasing minimum wage will decrease poverty. A modest increase in minimum wage of 10% could decrease poverty by 2%. (Bernstein) The other side of the argument is raising minimum wage creates inflation and forces layoffs. From an economic standpoint, inflation can be caused by any number of new or increased costs of production,...
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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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...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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...the biggest issues that are going on today is should we raise the minimum wage? According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, “In 2011, 73.9 million American workers age 16 and over were paid at hourly rates, representing 59.1 percent of all wage and salary workers. Among those paid by the hour, 1.7 million earned exactly the prevailing Federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. About 2.2 million had wages below the minimum. Together, these 3.8 million workers with wages at or below the Federal minimum made up 5.2 percent of all hourly-paid workers” (Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers In 2011, 2012). According to the data, there are very few people getting paid at or below the federal minimum wage. Yet, people are complaining that the current wages are not enough. With wages at the current state, people are still living in poverty. With the new Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2015 (H.R. 1010), the minimum wage will rise from $7.25 to $10.10. The debate is whether the increase in wage will either benefit everyone (employees and businesses) or will this increase have negative effects and create more issues instead of fixing them. Will we end up paying more to get less? Background Here is some history on H.R. 1010 or better known as the Fair Minimum Wage Act. “The federal minimum wage originated in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) signed by President Franklin Roosevelt on June 25, 1938. The law established a minimum wage of 25 cents per hour for all employees who produced products shipped...
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...Minimum Wages Sandra Matterson Comm/215 Essentials of College Writing November 13, 2014 Kate McCarty Minimum Wages Minimum wage is defined as "the lowest wages permitted by law or by a special agreement (such as one with a labor union)". Minimum wage is a controversial topic in economics and politics because there are good and bad intentions behind it. Many employers are against the increase of minimum wages, especially ones with a large amount of minimum wage workers. Although some employers agree that employees deserve an increase. When an employer has a business that gets big enough to need additional employees, they hire more since they are unable to do the work themselves. The goal is the additional money they bring in must be more than what they are paying their staff. As a business owner what can you do? If you raise prices it will drive customers a way. Some companies have created automated services likes self-check out to prevent paying higher wages to workers. $10.00 equals one fast food meal, 2 gallons of milk and a loaf of bread, or a little over two gallons of gas. Which now they want to add taxes on our gas. With minimum wage at the current rate you must work one hour to earn the ten dollars that only supply you with small necessities for everyday living. And in order to make it in this economy you would either have to work over-time just to make ends meat. So for example: I make $10.50 an hour and I tend to work between 90-120 hours in a two week pay...
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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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...works in the UK must get a minimum level of pay. This is called: The National Minimum Wage (NMW), you can be paid more than the national minimum wage but you must not be paid less. Although minimum wage laws are in effect for many years, there are some differences of opinion still existing about the benefits and drawbacks of a minimum wage. The main aim of the national minimum wage is to reduce poverty and to reduce the level of pay differences between men and women. Other aims include reducing the exploitation of low paid workers and improving incentives for people to look for paid work in the market. While it is clear that socially and morally the NMW is a good thing, the economic benefits out of the NMW have been an issue for years. Many economists believe the minimum wage law costs the economy thousands of jobs, because they would be unable to afford to employ more people, and also because other workers would bid up their own wages in an attempt to maintain their differentials with the low-paid workers. Additionally, imposing a minimum price for anything will in general reduce the quantity that is traded. A minimum wage may improve the income of a few, but will deprive others of income. However, the government Officials in The Department of Trade and Industry say there is no evidence that the minimum wage will cost jobs, and the employment consequences of a minimum wage are not certain. An official spokesman said: "In the long run, the additional wage costs will be offset...
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...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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...Debt Inequality is essential to the economic purgatory of the United States. Debt Inequality is when the rich continue to prosper, while the poor continue to stay poor. To overcome this, one must jump through many hoops in order to put themselves in a financial position that is deemed to be stable and "above average". Debt Inequality is a serious problem within our economy and many people don't realize they are in this situation until it is too late. However, it is possible to leave the poor side on the Debt Inequality spectrum. When teenagers, are fresh into the United States Economy, it can be easy and tempting for them to take out student loans and spend money on expensive and unneeded items. It is important to stay on track economically...
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...Act(FLSA) which established the U.S. federal minimum wage to be 25 cents. After 49 years, President Bill Clinton proposed a legislation that would allow individual states to set their own minimum wage as they see reasonable. As a result, several states set their minimum wage above what was originally established by the federal government. During that time since the FLSA was passed, the minimum wage was revised every few years to account for inflation and the cost of living which includes several reductions made by Congress. As of 2009, the federal minimum wage became $7.25, although labor activists continue to debate and ask Congress to raise...
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...II. Minimum Wage Defined a. Past Minimum Wage Law b. Considerations III. Increased Minimum Wage and Employment c. Job Losses d. Unskilled Workers IV. Increased Minimum Wage and Poverty V. Increased Minimum Wage and Effects for Society e. Costs of Labor f. Higher Prices g. Individual Impacts VI. Constitutionalism h. Previous Court Rulings i. Free Contract VII. Demotivation Factors j. Education k. Promotions VIII. Minimum Wage Redundancy IX. Conclusion The issue of raising the minimum wage is a highly debated topic. This topic is one that appeals to people from all walks of life. During some time in an individual’s life, he has worked for minimum wage. There will always be the worker who feels he is not paid enough and the boss who feels that the worker’s pay is adequate for the work. “If there were only two economists left in the world, they would disagree about the minimum wage” (Mejeur 14). Minimum wage is basically the minimal amount that an employer can legally pay an employee for work on an hourly basis. Past laws governed that the minimum wage would increase every few years, with the last increase being in 2009 for $7.25 per hour (Funk & Wagnalls 1). Many people feel an increase is long overdue. Those people, however, are not looking at the entire picture. Increasing the minimum wage goes beyond simply giving people more money in their pockets. People must consider...
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