...government, we have been living in poverty while the government refuses to take action and raise the minimum wage. Three billion of the world’s population live on less than $2.50 a day (DoSomething.org). That’s enough money to buy only one box of cereal. What comes to mind when you think of a decent lifestyle? Having a family, going to school, food to eat and a place to call home? This isn’t the case for many families and children in our country. Reporters say that 44% of U.S. children live in low-income families (The Washington Post.com). Our country is currently oblivious to the fact that because these families are living in poverty, parents can’t provide decent shelters, education for the children or even food to put on the table....
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...Recession, seven to eight years ago, about 8.4 million jobs were lost and 14.3% of Americans were living in poverty. Several years later, the government is still trying to get the Economy back on its feet. Democrats say that raising the minimum wage will increase earnings for millions of workers leading to cash flow which will stimulate the economy. Republicans say that although increasing the minimum wage would help many Americans by increasing their earnings, many Americans would also experience job loss. Increasing the minimum wage would help the economy greatly but could also hurt many of the low-income families. Rex Huppke of the Chicago Tribune, brings up a great point stating that raising the minimum wage is not an effective way to address the poverty issue America faces. When raising the minimum wage, not only will the families living in low-income housing be affected, but also young adults with their first jobs and teenagers working after school. This is a concern because these students aren’t the ones who need the help; it is the families with 5 children who...
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...Paper: Raising minimum wage 3/21/15 Professor Arin Black English 102 July 24th very easily could have been the day of rejoicing for Americans around the United States thanks to the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, which amended the FLSA (The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938) to increase the federal minimum wage in steps. The first increase came on July 24th, 2007 when minimum wage was increased to $5.85, then in 2008 when minimum wage rose again to $6.55, and lastly on July 24th 2009 when minimum wage was raised to its current $7.25. Instead of raising minimum wage consistently as the years before, six long years have passed since the minimum wage has risen at all in the United States and this has left Americans to have very little to rejoice about. Not only does the government owe their citizens a raise in minimum wage, but it is long overdue. Many Americans are drowning in debt but somehow find a way to enjoy their life as comfortable as possible without the help of a higher minimum wage. For many this may seem like the norm but poverty has grown ever so steadily and there has yet to be an answer for this since July 24th, 2009. Given this, I absolutely agree the minimum wage needs to be increased in order to match the rise in costs of living which, unlike minimum wage, has risen dramatically since the last time anything was done about it. To begin, I’d like to take you deeper into the history of our rise in prices throughout the economy since the last rise in minimum wage...
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...of machinery and rail road systems to America, the economical framework relied on a warped version of lasseiz-faire and featured wealthy descendants of British merchants who joined the colonies. Others worked menial jobs and apprenticeships to guarantee their source of income and it is safe to say that many were unhappy with their predicament --- even if they had no platform to voice this opinion. While the Industrialization Era introduced centuries of wealth to America, it also severely tipped the wealth distribution scale which can be seen extremely in events like the multiple depressions...
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...about minimum wage because this has been a going on discussion in America if it will benefit the economy and people who can't afford to support themselves. For example Barbara Mantel argues in her article “Would raising the rate be good for the economy?” that since 2009 minimum wage has always remained at $7.25 an hour and political pressure has been building up on congress to raise minimum wage. She says that polls have shown a majority of people support the idea of raising minimum wages. This would cause minimal job less while putting money into the hands of low-wage workers who would spend it, boosting the economy. She also claims that 21 states have already set their own hourly minimum wages more than $7.25 and congressional democrats have introduced legislation to raise wages to $10.00 an hour with the support of president Obama. Barbara Mantel’s argument that minimum wage should be raised because it's the best solution to reducing poverty....
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...Ty Eggen “But raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour is not the way to get wages up in this country. In fact, it would cause perhaps as many as a million people to lose their jobs.” This was stated by Jonathan Trugman in an article published on November 24, 2015 on New York Post. The minimum wage in America should not be raised, but instead it should be kept at where it is currently at. If the minimum wage is raised, it could cause many various problems throughout the country, affecting all who live here. Today we will cover the problems that would arise if the minimum wage was raised, next some solutions and alternatives to not raising the minimum wage, and finally, the benefits of keeping the minimum wage where it is at right now. First,...
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...Minimum wage in California is predicted to increase up to $15.00 an hour by the year 2023. Most people fighting for an increase in minimum wage are restaurant workers, especially in the fast food industry, dissatisfied with the current minimum wage of about $10.00. Economists, on the other hand, oppose raising the minimum wage for numerous reasons, such as an increase in unemployment, the effects it has on minors, the effects of the free market, and the “-ism”’s that increase. The largest and most often point argued by economists that oppose raising minimum wage is that it increases unemployment. Statistics show that “...in 2013, a $1 increase in the minimum wage was associated with a 1.48 percentage point increase in the unemployment rate…”...
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...Rhetorical Strategies: Minimum Wage Whether an opinion piece is effective depends on the expertise of rhetorical strategy of an author. This can either make a written piece convincing or unconvincing to the target audience. A clear example of how rhetorical strategies make a piece more convincing is the comparison of David Laska’s, “Minimum Need for a Minimum Wage Increase”, and Shamus Khan’s, “The Promise of More: Why We Should Raise the Minimum Wage”. By using rhetorical analysis on both opinion pieces Laska clearly makes a better argument. He makes use of logos by including statistics, an expert’s research in the field of minimum wage, and historical data to attack Obama’s decision to raising the minimum wage. He includes pathos to create a sense of disappointment and hopelessness in Obama’s decision effectively to convince his mainly conservative audience. In comparison, Khan also makes use of logos by mainly focusing on historical and some statistical data to convince his more liberal target audience. He also makes use of pathos to instill a sense of remorse for minimum wage workers, and also to call the readers to action. His evidence seems a little weak though, because in one case he forces the reader to open a link for another article for evidence and it seems that his claim relies too much on pathos. First, it is important to note how the author’s ethos affects the basic effectiveness of the article since credibility of writers is vital to convince the target audience...
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...The cost of living in America can be expensive, especially for those who are minimum wage workers. The $7.25 per hour can barely help workers afford their basic needs. Minimum wage has a huge domino effect, when people who make minimum wage get done paying their bills they are left with little to no money to spend, which means businesses lose customers, and when businesses lose customers this weakens our economy causing people to go into debt, and turn to the government for assistance. President Obama said “Raising the minimum wage will benefit about 28 million workers across the country, and it will help businesses too (Lee).” Minimum wage should be increased to provide families with living wages, increase the employment rates, and increase...
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...parent’s low paying jobs. Why should the kids suffer because of their parents, this is an unfair deal for the kids that are the key to our successful economy. If the minimum wage is increase, many people will be allowed to have a better future for themselves and their children. America is a country of increasing imbalance, where the wealthy are moving ahead while the working class is falling behind. In America, inequality exists in income, wealth, power, and education. People who are poor in the United States tend to stay in that cycle almost throughout their whole lives, not always by choice but because they do not have any other choice or opportunity. Poverty class has become much more significant in the lower income gap than the upper class,...
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...Rasing the Minimum wage “The average CEO makes 933 times more than a full-time minimum-wage worker,” (10 Reasons to Raise the Minimum Wage (with Charts)).”The country will benefit if we raise the minimum wage,Others think that we won’t prosper as a whole.Many Americans will be positively affected if the minimum wage is raised because, income inequality would be reduced, crime rate would decrease, and the general quality of life will be raised. If we as a country raise the mimmum wage we would reduce income inequaltiy. Others think that by raising the minimum wage, the country would transform into a socialist government, because everyone is now somewhat equal. People wouldn’t have to rely on food stamps to get the essentials. “3.5 million people wouldn’t have to use food stamps to get the essentials anymore,”(10 Reasons to Raise the Minimum Wage (with Charts)).” Many Americans will come come out of poverty by raising the minimum wage.“Over 5 million people would come out of poverty by raising the minimum wage to 10.10,”(- Berman).” An average CEO makes a lot more money than a minimum wage worker.“The average minimum wage worker ($15,080)...
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...Raise the Minimum Wage Imagine working full time, but you can’t still make enough money to support your family. That's what millions of Americans who work on minimum wage experience. Minimum wage should be raised because it would reduce government welfare spending and poverty rates. According to Fletcher, raising minimum wage “would reduce federal food stamp spending by $4.6 billion a year” ( Fletcher 1). This increase in minimum wage allows the government to free up an astonishing amount of funds that they can end up spending on our military, education, and so much more. Imagine what we could do if we spent the money on developing cures and furthering our space exploration. The welfare spending could end up going to education which in return leads to more students getting degrees which leads to better jobs and even less spending on food stamps. It becomes a cycle to where the more people the...
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...The percentage of poverty in America needs to be decreased. Forty-seven percent of Americans do not have access to at least four hundred dollars for an emergency or unexpected expense, and about half of them make under $15 dollars an hour (“The Universal Basic” 00:08:11-00:08:20). To fight the increasing poverty in America, the government should raise the federal minimum wage. Minimum wage is the amount of money an employer can legally pay an employee per hour. It makes sure workers are compensated fairly and protected from exploitation. Each state minimum varies in amount; however, the federal minimum currently sets at $7.25 per hour (Chang 12). Increasing the minimum wage would help workers and families without harming the business economy....
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...Fast Food Workers’ Strike Raul Valdez’s section On Thursday September 4th 2014, thousands of fast food restaurant workers walked out of their post and joined a street protest demanding a wage of $15 per hour. Fast food workers in more than 100 cities in the US joined the protest hoping to disturb the fast food chains enough to get their executives’ attention. This protest was part of the movement that was organized by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). A previous strike was organized on May this year and it took place not only in the US but in at least 33 countries like The UK, Philippines, India, Japan, and Belgium among others. The protests were supposed to be peaceful, but there were some instances of protesters blocking streets. The police had to intervene and at least 430 people were arrested. Kendall Fells, the organizer director of Fast Food Forward organization that helped organize the protest said “There has to be civil disobedience because workers don’t see any other way to get $15 an hour and a union” Protesters were hoping that their absence from work would make these fast food restaurants lose revenue and create chaos forcing executives in these establishments to accept the protesters’ demands. A similar strike took place when the Market Basket workers abandoned their posts when the Market Basket Board of Directors decided to replace their CEO. Although the fast food protest was highly organized and the majority of workers joined, some workers...
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...The Hike to $15 America, the land of freedom and opportunity they say. I think that saying might just be false with the way our nation is today. The main 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)...
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