History Of Minimum Wage

History of Minimum Wage
The definition of Minimum Wage is "an amount of money that is the least amount of money per
hour that workers must be paid according to the law" (Minimum wage). Minimum wage, like other
laws, are used to keep the economy in line. Minimum wage laws were invented in Australia and
New Zealand with the purpose of guaranteeing a minimum standard of living for unskilled workers.
(Linda Gorman) Minimum wage puts a price on the services one offers. Many different principles
can be used to explain Minimum wage and explore the different aspects of it. Including what
minimum wage does for our economy and the current status of it.
2. History of Minimum Wage
According to Principles of Macroeconomics by Gregory Mankiw, "The U.S. Congress first ... Show
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So many Young people don't get a chance to gain experience, which overall hurts the economy. 4.
Principles of Economics
When it comes to minimum wage there are multiple ways to explain it. One way is to see minimum
wage as a tradeoff. Yes, people will have more money in their pocket, if they keep their jobs. Yet at
the same time prices may rise because of employers being forced to pay more. Which of these two
options is the less damaging to the economy? There is no perfect solution for the economy and
minimum wage. There will always be something that hurts the economy while trying to save it. In a
perfect world workers, employers, and the economy would all benefit equally.
In America right now we use our labor to sell to employers. We give up time with our families, time
for relaxation, and time for any other time. The opportunity cost of working is all this time. America
faces a trade off when it comes to raising the minimum wage. If we decide that we are going to raise
the minimum wage then we are giving up jobs. So the opportunity cost of more jobs is higher wages
for those that have jobs. Also if there is more people unemployed the government then must step in
and help those people. Why do people work? People work to get something, they work for
incentives. We have a problem today of unemployment and a large group not in the work force. By
raising the minimum wage
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Increasing The Minimum Wage
The minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour and has not increased since 2009. This is one of the
most controversial questions in America today, should the federal minimum wage be raised, lowered
or eliminated? The minimum wage, which covers 90% of American workers, should be raised.
Changes to the minimum wage would benefit the economy, society and possibly lift Americans out
of poverty. Since 1938 the economy has recovered considerably from the Great Depression which
began in 1929 and ended in 1939.
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 set a minimum wage for employees in the United States.
Before this Act was passed there was a high unemployment rate, and employers could take
advantage of desperate workers by paying extremely low wages and working them a maximum
number of hours. The Fair Labor Standards Act was started in an effort to improve working
conditions and raise standards of living by limiting the number of hours worked and setting a base
wage that employers must pay.
Increasing the minimum wage will progress the economy in many ways such as, increased buying
power, faster rates of job growth, and decreasing the need for taxpayer–funded assistance. When
consumers have more on–hand cash to spend, they are able to spend money on retail goods and
services. Greater demand and sales for these businesses is likely to cause the need for more workers
over time. Studies done by Paul Sonn and Yannet Lathrop show that in a majority of instances an
increase in the federal

Minimum Wage And The Wage
Eliminate the Minimum Wage
Darity Has described minimum wage as: "Minimum–wage legislation has been to improve the terms
of employment of the least–fortunate wage earners." (Darity) Since the beginning of minimum wage
laws in 1270 France the intentions of minimum wage legislation has been good. The idea is that a
worker is worth a certain amount regardless of the work they are able to do. One can see how this
could create inefficiencies in an economy. The law was meant to help poor families. Later in Britain,
the father of economics, Adam Smith wrote his book called the wealth of nations. These basic
economic principles can show the inefficiency of the minimum wage. If an employer is forced to
pay more for labor, then in turn they must charge more for their product, or they must reduce the
amount of on the job training.
Neumark and Wascher interjected: "Minimum wages were originally proposed [in the United States]
as a means to combat the proliferation of so–called sweatshops in manufacturing industries."
(Neumark) child labor laws control the creation of sweatshops. Minimum wage Laws tend to force
employers to pay more for labor that they perceive as less valuable. Sweatshop implies a place
where workers are paid very little money to do a dangerous or hard job. Many labor laws make this
kind of setup inefficient for the employer. Investing in one's employees and their safety is more
efficient and avoids costly injuries.
One can most easily visualize the

Raising The Minimum Wage
Throughout the years, the talk about increasing the minimum wage has been a matter of
predominant insight amongst the economy. Minimum wage causes the slightest businesses to
prevail, then would be the case without it. If we raise the minimum wage it will end up causing the
American economy to suffer more than benefiting it. If there is an inflation on minimum wage the
expenses rise, and the price of living will go up. Although, minimum wage jobs do not allow people
to make enough money to live off of. These low, cost jobs require very little knowledge and or
schooling. They require the bare minimum skills, according to The Bureau of Labor Statistic stated
that "In 2015, 78.2 million workers age 16 and older in the United States were paid at hourly rates,
representing 58.5 percent of all wage and salary workers. Among those paid by the hour, 870,000
workers earned exactly the prevailing federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. About 1.7 million
had wages below the federal minimum." (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.) Getting paid $15 dollars
for flipping hamburgers, with minimal judgement is absolutely ridiculous. If one wishes to get paid
more, they should have a wide range of knowledge and a lot more schooling. One of the reasons
why a higher minimum wage can be harmful is job loss. Small business will not be able to afford to
pay people if the wage increases. The Consumers productivity goes less which will make economy
fail. This results in employees unable to compensate

Raising The Minimum Wage?
The topic of raising the minimum wage has many different viewpoints. It is thought to be affected
negatively and positively. Some believe it increases unemployment and poverty. Others believe it
creates jobs, helps the economy and low–income families by giving them more money to give back
to the economy.
Doug Hall, director of the Economic Analysis and Research Network and David Cooper, Economic
Analyst at the Economic Policy Institute, expressed how the increase in minimum wage affects
certain genders, families, education backgrounds, ages, and the economy (Hall & Cooper, 2014). It
is said that the increase mainly affects women with a compromising percentage of 54.5 (Hall &
Cooper, 2014). It affects at least 20 year olds and mostly white workers. The increase in minimum
wage also affects workers with a college degree or higher more than those with a high school
diploma. It also affects low to moderate–income families and those who work full time. Hall and
Cooper believe that the rise in minimum wage will not cause job losses, but create jobs. They also
believe that the workers will spend their extra earnings and those who make close to but higher than
the minimum wage will, "receive boost in earnings due to "spillover" effect, giving them more to
spend on necessities" (Hall & Cooper, 2014). They believe this will help with economic growth.
Holly Skylar, Director of Let Justice Roll Living Wage Campaign, which is an organization that
seeks to raise minimum wage, believes

Minimum Wage
Minimum wage is a controversial topic because everybody wants more. People want more money
and some think that just increasing minimum wage can increase more money that they get.
However, this is far from the truth as sometimes employers can't pay their employers more than
minimum wage. Not to mention that if the minimum wage goes up so does the price of everything
else in order to adjust for the new price. So essentially increasing the wage majorly does nothing
except maybe lower the value of your money since more money would be required for everybody
and more money to go around gives it less value. Don't get started and think "well if increasing it
majorly does nothing what about a small increase" because that'll just ruining the ... Show more
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So according to the Contemporary Economic Policy, lowering the minimum wage would increase
the GDP of the united states by 1–2% which is enough to make a change in today's prices. A higher
GDP is important for other reasons as well as it's always been a sign of huge economic growth
ahead. For example, back in 1945 the united states had a massive GDP thanks to war production of
world war II. five years later during the 1950s, america had a prosperous life. A single stable job
supported a whole family. Another benefit to lower minimum wage is towards tipped workers like
waiters. The Journal of Labor Research says in their article "The Minimum Wage and Tipped
Workers" that as the minimum wage increases income and employment for tipped workers decrease
and the raising the minimum wage would do the opposite. Their explanation on how tipped workers
would lose income is well said "work–ers earn no tips so these restaurants pay employees $5 an
hour. But at full–service restaurants, servers may earn $4 an hour in tips. The minimum wage law
requires these restaurants to pay $2.13 an hour, so the workers earn $6.13 an hour with tips. If the
minimum wage is increased to $5.00 an hour, fast–food restaurants are unaffected and still pay $5 an
hour. But the full–service restaurant's rises from $2.13 an hour to $2.50 an hour (50 percent of $5 is
offset with tipped income). As this example sug– gests, restaurants with the better–paying (tipped)
jobs

The current minimum wage in the United States is a wage which Americans cannot live and provide
for a family. Americans are forced to live in poor living conditions because of the low wages they
earn. The low wages that workers earn result in poor healthcare because they cannot afford the
proper treatment. The minimum wage leaves little, if any, for any unexpected expenses. The
minimum wage in America affects American workers trying to make ends meet. The minimum wage
needs to be raised and changed to the living wage. The minimum wage in the United States needs to
be raised to a wage which American workers can live. The current minimum wage leaves little room
for everyday expenses. In this paper, I will argue that the minimum wage should be raised to a living
wage. The minimum wage, which Americans earn, creates a financial gap between the employee
and the employer. There is a definite need to raise the minimum wage to lessen the gap between the
employee and the employer. The need to decrease income inequality is the reason why the minimum
wage needs to be raised. The inequality between the employer and the employee is an enormous
problem in the United States. The employer pays the employee a wage that is not livable. The
Americans earning the minimum wage are forced to have themselves and their families live on a
wage that is not livable. The minimum wage in itself is not enough to support a family. The cost of
necessary items to live is going up, while the American

During the run–up presidential election of 2016, low–wage workers began demanding for a raise in
the minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour. On April of 2016, governor Jerry Brown signed the
minimum wage to be raised to $15–an–Hour in California by 2022. It is hoped that raising the
minimum wage will reduce the economic disparity between the wealthy and the poor and to help
people who earn minimum wage gain more purchasing power. However, the article California
Moves Toward $15–an–Hour Minimum Wage by Alejandro Lazo and Eliot Brown raises some
concerns on what would happen after the raise. For example, the concerns about raising the
minimum wage would add job losses because of the inability of businesses to afford workers, this
would in the long run cause inflation pushing California back to deficit and driving further
inequalities.
Firstly, increasing minimum wage would negatively affect firm's profits, and this would indirectly
lead to decline in employment declining and job losses. Increasing labor costs would aggravate the
burden on businesses profits. The marginal cost would go up significantly due to increasing labor
costs, and businesses would find ways to protect and maximize their profits like reducing the quality
of inputs and final goods or hire less labour than usual. However, raising the minimum wage too
much would put a lot of poor people out of work. Businesses would hire fewer workers and replace
them with more automation that would lead to more job losses

Minimum Wage Drawbacks
There are several positions highlighting the benefits and drawbacks of a minimum wage policy. The
policy behind the use of a minimum wage and the effects of an increase in an established amount is
debated every political cycle. The minimum wage is the term for the lower legal limit of pay
(hourly, daily or monthly) that an employer can offer to an employee for their labor.
I will not be taking a position on the topic on way or the other.
First, we will look at the claim that a raise of the base pay for employees will cause an increase in
unemployment and job loss. For the side that support an increase in minimum wages hold that the
loss of jobs would be negligible. When looking at the fast food industry in Minimum Wages and
Employment: a Case Study of the Fast–Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, Dr. David
Card and Dr. Alan Krueger found that when one state, New Jersey, raised their wages by $0.80, the
job growth mirrored Pennsylvania which did not raise wages (p.792). These findings would support
a conclusion that the minimum wage increase ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
When compensation for work done is increased for individuals the satisfaction for the job also
increases, when renumeration is comparable to employ expectations there is less pressure for a
person to get minimal training and change positions outside the initial company. A job being filled
than vacated quickly is a burden to employers due to cost of initial training and low levels of
productivity from new hires. However detractors of an increase in the minimum wage cite that a
national policy doesn't take into account the diverse socioeconomic regions of the United States. a
"one–size–fits" all approach to wages hurts the communities with a lower cost of living by
increasing the effects of inflation on goods and services provided in the area (Biggs and Perry, "A
National Minimum Wage is a Bad Fit for Low–Cost

The minimum wage for workers should be increased for a number of reasons. Generally speaking
there are many benefits and circumstances on raising the minimum wage, but if we don't take action
on changing the amount people are getting paid then there will be some consequences. First of all,
raising the minimum wage would reduce the number of people who are in poverty which is far
greater than it needs to be. Moreover, raising the minimum wage would lead to less premature
deaths and allow many people to live healthier and longer lives. Finally, raising the minimum wage
would allow many high school students that are in poverty and working to attend school more often
than they already are. There are many pieces of evidence that will prove my point
If the minimum wage is increased for workers then there would be a decrease in the number of
people who are in poverty and allow them to afford their basic essentials for their everyday life.
According to the article Should the Minimum Wage be Increased? it says "...increasing the
minimum wage to $9 would lift 300,000 people out of poorness, and an increase to $10.10 would
lift 900,000 people out of poorness." To begin, by increasing workers pay it would lift a great
number of people out of poverty, allowing them to provide for their families and buy food that
would be needed to live an everyday normal life. Better food that will be affordable for the workers
will increase their health allowing them to work longer hours than needed.

The Benefits Of Minimum Wage
A full time job should not be rewarded with a life of poverty. In America, the need to raise minimum
wage has never been so crucial. Many Americans debate the increase; although, research indicates
raising the minimum would benefit almost every family. Across the country, current minimum wage
isn't meeting the needs of many struggling families so many cities stepped beyond Federal
requirements and found success with raising wages.
The minimum wage is supposed to protect Americans; however at 7.25 an hour most Americans
don't feel secure. The Editorial Board explains minimum wage is "a fundamental labor standard
designed to protect workers, just as labor laws and overtime rules do," not just "the lowest legal
hourly pay." If minimum wage had risen with inflation through the past 50 years, the current
minimum wage would be about 19 dollars an hour (Chen). Although, 19 dollars may be too
unrealistic something needs to be done. Even just a few dollars would help tens of millions of
American employees. Some argue the other government programs are helping American enough,
but these substaties can actually lower wages. This is because, "Employers who pay factor the
government assistance into their wage scales" (The Editorial Board). People are struggling to make
ends meet and provide for their families because the minimum wage is so low. In some parts of the
U.S. people would need to make triple the amount of minimum wage just to cover basic needs
(Chen).
Many counties,

According to the Wall Street Journal, "more than one–half of the people earning the minimum wage
are from 16 to 24 years of age." This statistic clearly shows that most of the people in America
making minimum wage are young adult that just got out of high school or college and are trying to
find work experience. Why should a low–skilled young adult with no work experience make as
much as a teacher? They are doing a job that any other low skilled human could do. Jobs making the
minimum wage should not be considered to be a career, they should be a stepping stone towards
your future career. The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour and the state minimum wage
is $8.10 an hour. An increase in the minimum living wage in the United States will ultimately result
in increased unemployment, increased prices for goods and services, and essentially becoming
ineffective at reducing poverty. Increased unemployment is just one of the negative effects of
increasing the minimum wage. When employers are forced to pay it's employees more money every
week it requires them to find ways to pay for these wage increases. One unfortunate way these
employers will will pay for these wage increases is by laying off more employees, and requiring the
employees left to do even more work then before. Most fast food establishments in the United State
are typically already understaffed, which begs us to question what would happen if they have even
less employees? Many people go to fast food

The And Benefits Of A Minimum Wage
The Affects and Advantages of a Minimum Wage
180 Hour 3
Shakopee High School
A common saying known throughout the business world, "time is money", which applies to every
aspect of every work place, yet a something is missing from that saying. The missing element is just
how much your time is worth. Recently with new raises in minimum wage the United States is
taking steps to come more closely to the equilibrium of how much employees should be paid.
With the many, many issues in the United States, most of the population seems to drift towards one
of two main political parties, the Republican and Democratic Parties. With two sides comes two
different approaches to issues. The Republican Party is more supportive of the authority of the 50
States Governments, and a less centralized U.S. federal government. Republicans support gun
rights, religious freedom, military and defense spending, tight immigration standards, and lower tax
rates for all Americans. Republicans are also less supportive of social welfare programs, abortion,
and are pro–business and opposed to tight regulations on the business sector and Wall Street, and
supporters of free market, free enterprise Capitalism. Whereas the Democratic Party is a party that is
very supportive of government–sponsored public welfare programs such as social security,
unemployment programs, and food stamps. A highly regulated private sector (meaning businesses
and Wall Street), loose immigration restrictions,

The Minimum Wage Is Not A Living Wage
The Minimum Wage is not a Living Wage The current minimum wage in the United States is a wage
which Americans cannot live on. Americans are forced to live in poor living conditions because of
the low wages they earn. The low wages workers earn result in poor healthcare because they cannot
afford the proper treatment. The minimum wage leaves little, if any, for any unexpected expenses.
The minimum wage in America affects American workers trying to make ends meet. The minimum
wage needs to be raised and changed to the living wage. The minimum wage in the United States
needs to be raised to a wage which American workers can live on. The current minimum wage
leaves little room for everyday expenses. In this paper, I will argue that the minimum wage should
be raised to a living wage. The minimum wage which Americans earn creates a financial gap
between the employee and the employer. The need to raise the minimum wage to a living wage lies
in the reason to reduce income inequality. The inequality between the employer and the employee is
an enormous problem in the United States. The employer pays the employee a wage that is not
livable. The Americans earning the minimum wage are forced to have themselves and their families
live on a wage that is not livable. The minimum wage in itself is not enough to support a family. The
cost of necessary items to live is going up, while the American worker's wage stagnates. The
necessity items that are needed to live on are getting

Raising Minimum Wage
Increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour would cost the economy between 500,000 and 1
million jobs and an increase in $15.00 per hour would cost 6 million jobs. In 1938, Congress first
enacted minimum wage that started as $0.25 per hour as a part of FDRś New Deal during the Great
Depression. Today, 21 states have a minimum wage that is higher than the Federal minimum wage.
The federal minimum wage should not be raised because there will be drastic and negative effects
on society.
An increase in minimum wage would hurt businesses. Both large and small businesses would be
affected if an increase was to happen. However, because smaller businesses don't make as much
income or revenue as big businesses, they would be hurt more and could even be forced to close. ¨60
percent of small–business owners say that raising the federal minimum wage will hurt small
business owners (Should the Federal)". Small business owners would have to increase their pay to
their workers, thus giving out more company money. If they are paying their employees more
money than income they are receiving, they will plummet. This could make for employees getting
laid off or fired which would increase unemployment. This would hurt people, which is the opposite
of what an increase in minimum wage would originally be for. For example, big companies such as
Foot Locker or Target would not have any problem dealing with an increase because their revenue is
high. A local family owned sandwich shop would not be

Minimum Wage There are a lot of people around the world who struggle with money and a
satisfactory way of life. Whether they be in the United States or across the globe, there is a standard
minimum wage set for the working class of their country. In the Unites States, there is a federal
minimum wage of seven dollars and twenty five cents per hour worked. Almost every state has
another set minimum wage, which typically is a little higher than the federal minimum wage, but it
cannot be lower than seven dollars and twenty five cents. Countries set minimum wage laws, to
ensure there is a basic quality of life amongst its citizens. As the minimum wage goes up in certain
states, the quality of life also improves. The problem with a higher minimum wage, is now people
are getting paid higher for entry level jobs which are meant for teenagers and people new to the
workforce. If the minimum wage keeps increasing across the country, teenagers and young adults
will have a much more difficult time finding jobs.
The cost of living, and the standard of living, have a direct effect on how much money people make.
Generally speaking, a person who makes a lot money, has a better standard of living, while someone
who works a minimum wage job, has a lower standard of living. It is very normal for the minimum
wage to increase in America, as it has ever since it was established in the thirties, but it is important
to remember, when the minimum wage increases, other wages, and salaries must

Minimum Wage And The Wage Essay
Minimum wage requires paying every employee a specific wage regardless of the employee
productivity. It is the responsibility of the government to set the minimum wage. To understand this,
a biology analogy can be used: some animals are stronger compared to others. In economic
perspective, some people are relatively unable to deliver compared to others. Among them include,
disabled, unskilled, and the youth. Due to their low productivity, they are entitled lower wages
corresponding to their efforts (Waldman, 2011). Normally, government attempt to raise minimum
wage results to increase in the level of unemployment. This leads to desperation, increase in
dependency and isolation among workers. The employer is forced to fire weak taskforce because
holding them will attract a huge loss (Henderson, 2008). For instance, consider a situation where the
employer pays $2.50 per hour to a young worker with no education qualification and relevant skills.
This amount corresponds with the productivity of that particular worker. If the minimum wage law
becomes operational requiring a payment of $5.50 per hour, it implies the responsible employer will
be losing $3 in every hour while the employee benefits by the same regardless of his productivity.
However, this requirement will undermine employees with higher productivity per hour. A worker
who used to be paid $10 per hour will have to face a reduction. This can negatively affect his
productivity. Job discrimination will also rise and

The federal minimum wage has been a major political issue in American since it first came into
effect in 1938 during president Franklin D. Roosevelt presidency. Over the years, many have wanted
to raise the wage or leave it alone. The debate has been a problem in America over eighty years and
will continue to be an issue as the economy changes. The federal minimum wage should not be
raised because it will hurt small businesses, teenages/ young adults will be out of the work force,
and will increase poverty and reliance on government programs. Raising the federal minimum wage
will hurt small business owners. If the wage was to be raised business owners will have to raise the
price of goods to keep up with payments. Since prices increase there will be a lose in customers
("Should the Federal). Even though employees will get a higher pay some may get laid off or work
less hours, causing a decrease in income because owners can't afford to pay their employees
("Should We Raise"). If the federal minimum wage would increase to $15.00 an hour non–minimum
wage workers would get paid more than minimum wage workers. For example, if a restaurant owner
pays a chef $10.50 and a dishwasher $7.25 the increase would make these wages the same, not
giving workers a fair equal pay. The chefs wages must be raised in order to be equal. Even though it
is portrayed that lower wage workers pay increases. Business owners may have to lay off employees
because they cannot afford to pay every worker

The Minimum Wage Change
Introduction One of the most talked about subjects in the U.S economy is the topic of minimum
wage. With president Obama's increase in the minimum wage to 10.10$ per hour people, both
economists and politicians alike, have been debating whether raising the bar is a smart idea. At a
time when the country the country's inflation continues to rise at a steady pace and Americans are
constantly working to feed their families, some economists know that a raise in the minimum wage
would help elevate some of the difficulty. The last time the federal minimum wage was raised was in
July of 2009, where rose from 6.55$ to 7.25$. However, there are plenty of reasons as to why the
wage should be raised. Some may not think it, but raising the ... Show more content on
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Prices skyrocketed, quadrupling in the span of four years, but workers saw no increase in pay. This
meant that no one could actually afford to feed themselves. (The Great Patriotic War) However, an
increase in wages would mean more money being handed to the hands of people who would spend it
the most, increasing revenue for industries and pay for their employees. These employees would
then go out and spend more money themselves as their incomes raised and that would mean more
tax revenue coming into the hands of the government. With the money, the government would be
able to afford more infrastructure projects such as repairing bridges and adding on to colleges,
leading to an increase in employment. This is known as "trickle–down" economics, which is "an
economic idea which states that decreasing marginal and capital gains – especially for corporations,
investors and entrepreneurs – can stimulate production in the overall economy. According to trickle–
down theory proponents, this stimulus leads to economic growth and wealth creation that benefits
everyone, not just those who pay the lower tax rates." (Investopedia)
An Increase in Unemployment? One of the biggest arguments against raising the minimum wage is
that it ends up raising employer costs (ex. having to pay more for employees) and leaves less and
less opportunities for teenaged workers and disadvantaged workers to find jobs. However, David
Card and Alan Krueger, both of whom are heads of the

Minimum Wage Regulation
There should be government regulation in business and job wages because as shown by Germany's
successful governmental regulation policies, Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations, and Richard
Nixon's Address to the Nation on Labor Day from 1971, government regulation in job wages is
beneficial for almost everyone.
First, it is necessary to examine what exactly the government regulates, and why they regulate it.
The government regulates wages first, because it is necessary in order to ensure that people are not
getting taken advantage of. The Fair Labor Standards Act was passed to set a minimum wage for
workers in the United States. The minimum wage's purpose was to ensure that workers in the labor
force would be protected. It was also created so ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
As a low–wage country, the United States' standard of living set by welfare, and the minimum wage
set by the Fair Labor Standards Act are set about at the same level. As a result of this, people are less
likely to work at the minimum wage because it is barely better than what they would be getting if
they simply did not work and just lived on welfare. In contrast to this, Germany is a high–wage
country who survived the recession and place high value upon manufacturing jobs. In the 2008
survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, they uncovered that the hourly manufacturing
compensation was $48 in Germany, and $32 in the United States. Furthermore, despite Germany
paying more, they export immensely in comparison to America, who is the king of importing.
Another great thing about Germany's system is that the workers get six weeks of vacation that is
mandatory by law, health care benefits, free tuition to Universities, pensions, and child care. The
German government also realizes the importance of competition and aide in vocational training,
have laws in place that provide money for people's research projects, and finally, require constant
training that improves the skills of their workers. Not only this, but Germany mandates that a certain
number of workers hold seats on the board of directors in companies. Similarly, Nixon elluded to
these ideas in his

Minimum wage was established on October 24, 1938 after President Roosevelt signed the Fair
Labor Standards Act. (Grossman) Minimum wage was set to allow working class citizens an
opportunity to work a reasonable amount of hours for pay that would enable individuals to maintain
a minimal quality life.
In today's economics minimum wage is used as a price control or price floor that the government
enforces. A price floor is a minimum price for a product or service above the market's equilibrium
price. Selling any product or service sold below the price floor is considered illegal. Since the price
of a commodity or service is increased the demand will go down lower than the quantity supplied
creating a surplus. This theory also creates a surplus in employment. When minimum wage is
increased or a price floor is set there will be a surplus of employees and the demand for workers will
decrease. Well in order to accurately determine whether the minimum wage employees are receiving
is enough to maintain a minimal lifestyle, we must first understand how the minimum wage is
calculated. According to the United States Department of Labor, "federal minimum wage for
covered nonexempt employees is $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009. The federal minimum
wage provisions are contained in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)." The Fair Labor Standards
Act is a set of standards pertaining to youth employment, overtime pay, and other laws that affect
employees within private and public

Every state has its own minimum wage. The minimum wage is the lowest amount of money a job
can pay you. In my state, which is Florida, the minimum wage is $8.10 an hour, meaning that when
I am employed in Florida they have to at least pay $8.10 an hour depending on the job. The
minimum wage should not be raised higher than what it is now because raising the minimum wage
could hurt the most vulnerable people. I believe that it should not be raised because it can hurt the
most vulnerable of people, unemployment rates would go up higher than what it is now, and people
not being able to afford housing and everyday essentials. Increasing minimum wage would not be
good for the most vulnerable people. This includes teenagers, low–income families, and families
that have more than 3 people in the household. The people that would get hurt the most by
increasing the minimum wage would be those people who are supposed to be the beneficiaries.
Shrek once said, "Even left–leaning European governments that embrace activist government, labor
market regulation understands raising the minimum wage that high would hurt the most vulnerable
workers" (The New American). A higher minimum wage could result in a significant increase in
high school dropouts. People who want to increase minimum wage would say the exact opposite.
They would say that increasing the minimum wage would be good and that it would help families
out but that is not the case. Increasing the minimum wage would help reduce

The Wage Of The Minimum Wage
With the presidential elections right around the corner policy on minimum wage has come up for
debate once again. William Hoar from The New American argues in his article "Misguided
minimum wage mandate" that raising the minimum wage will only result in loss of jobs. According
to the editorial board at USA Today, " inflation adjusted income of the top 1 percent has grown by
58 percent and the remaining 99 percent has only grown by 6.4 percent". They then state that a raise
to 15 dollars an hour only comes out to an annual income of 30,000 a year. It is true that the
majority of the minimum wage workforce is from ages 18 to 25 but considering the fact that that age
group are the people attending college and paying off student loans, then it should be expected that
they are unhappy with such a low salary. At the minimum wage of 7.25 that comes out to 1200
dollars per month for the cost of living. Therefore raising the minimum wage will not only increase
morale, it will also reduce rates of poverty. Former U.S secretary of labor Robert Reich takes the
side of the impoverished in his article on the CNBC website by taking a look at how raising the
minimum wage has benefited the city of Seattle. Reich states that 44 percent of the jobs created in
Seattle were minimum wage. Retail jobs are vital to the economy since they keep the world running.
Gas and groceries are just two simple minimum wage jobs that are integral to everyday life. It is
baffling that regular customers of

In the United States, there are 29.6 million small businesses, which is 99.9% of all business in the
US. Those small businesses employ 57.9 million which represents 47.8% of all labor in the United
States. Therefore the national minimum wage has a huge effect on small business and the employees
of those businesses. The federal minimum wage should not be raised because it will ruin small
businesses, increase poverty in America, and will negatively affect young adults more than other
groups.
The most affected segment of the economy by raising the minimum wage is small businesses. Small
businesses will quickly dwindle away as a result of raising of the national minimum wage. As an
example consider a small pizza shop. An increase in the minimum wage of 1 dollar an hour adds
$16,000 to labor costs. Going to 15 dollars an hour adds $128,000 to labor costs, almost 3 times the
take–home pay of the owners. This money could be money that is going to be taken straight out of
the owner's pocket, affecting their family, business, and livelihood. Ask yourself how one of the 5
million small businesses with fewer than 10 workers would handle this, they can't. More realistically
the owners won't absorb the increase, the increase will cause people to get laid off. If a pizza shop
has 17 employees who all work two to three days a week. These businesses can easily decrease to
ten or eleven people who have to work harder and more frequently. This will cause people to lose
their jobs which

In 1938, President Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act also known as FLSA. This act
shielded workers in the United States from being misused and introduced the first federal minimum
wage: 25 cents per hour. Since FLSA was created, every few years, Congress revise it to account for
inflation. Currently, in the United States, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. Millions of
people in the United States are either living in poverty or debt. Some of these people also have
families to take care of and living on the minimum wage is not enough. People argue that raising the
minimum wage would hurt businesses, force companies to close, and create competition for jobs.
Despite this, it is necessary for the federal minimum wage to increase to boost the economy and help
millions of individuals struggling in poverty.
The main reason why people do not want to raise the minimum wage is that they believe raising it
would result in a higher unemployment rate and it will increase the expense of hiring inexperienced
people. New minimum wage job positions give young people an experience on how the real world is
like, and it makes them learn skills to become more constructive, and if the minimum wage
increased, it would be challenging for them to find a job. Economists argue that "young people
would be harmed the most by increasing the minimum wage. Almost half of minimum wage
workers are under 25, and 19 percent are teens. This group's unemployment rate is already higher
than

The Minimum Wage Debate
The minimum wage debate brings about a range of reactions from different people. There are those
who believe that there shouldn't even be a minimum wage and that wages should be determined by
the markets. On the other hand, we have those who vigorously argue for increasing the wage
minimum citing inflation, the poverty line and worker productivity. Regardless, we do have a
federal minimum wage rate in the United States at $7.25 per hour, with some states having a higher
minimum wage than the federal minimum. President Obama, in his first state of the union address of
his second term proposed "Tonight, let's declare that, in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who
works full–time should have to live in poverty, and raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour"
(The White House 2013). A year later, he has revised that number to $10.10 per hour after signing
an executive order that has already raised the minimum wage for federal workers to that number.
(The White House 2014). With more and more states raising their own minimum wage, a minimum
wage increase seems almost imminent with Democrats and Republicans getting closer to a deal.
(Bolton 2014). But we are more interested in the efficiency of a minimum wage implemented at the
federal level. The main question that surrounds this debate is whether this price floor in labor
markets is efficient given that the stated goal of the minimum wage is to make sure full–time
workers earn a living wage and are above the poverty line.

The minimum wage will see a drastic change this January. With minimum wage increasing from
$11.60 to $14.00 in January and plateauing at $15.00 in January of 2019. Student minimum is also
rising to $14.10, and liquor servers will just surpass thirteen dollars at $13.05. This change not only
supports minimum wage workers through an income increase, but Ontario is also hiring 175
employment standard officers. These officers will benefit minimum wage workers by enforcing the
new minimum wage and as well as other labour laws. Critics believe that this increase in minimum
wage does not reach the intended demographic of low–income families and will result in a loss of
jobs and positions. With a substantial change occurring this January, raising the minimum wage to
$14.00, the effects of this raise will begin to ripple throughout Ontario. Although raising the
minimum wage has been critiqued by many economists, it is essential to improving the lives of the
lower class in Ontario.
Firstly, critics believe operating costs will rise substantially during this turnover. Within two years,
according to the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis, Ontario could see $23–billion in increased
operating costs and 185,000 job losses. Increasing minimum wage does not incentivise new or
current businesses in Ontario to settle in the province due to increasing operating costs. Critics of
the spike of minimum wage argue that the benefits won't reach the targeted demographic. The
Toronto Sun reports

Workers from around the world no matter the culture, country, or type of job believe that increasing
the minimum wage would solve individual financial problems. It is important to know that this
subject is not a black–and–white problem and can not be answered by a simple yes or a no answer.
This article will be focusing on the minimum wage in America. Furthermore, we are focusing on the
State 's minimum wage rather the Federal minimum wage. It is important to understand that the state
's minimum wage is different than the Federal. In some states it may be higher or lower than the
Federal, and other states in comparison. Although increasing a state 's minimum wage would have a
positive effect on individual workers, it may have a negative and long–lasting effect on the state's
cities and its economy. An increase in the state's minimum wages will have a dramatic change in the
percentage of unemployment within specific areas, mainly the ones that are generally poor and
undeveloped. In reality, it is a common sense to understand that this types of changes will take place
since, "when you raise the price of something, in this case labor, less of it will be demanded, or in
this case hired"(Neumark). The true nature of this idea can be explained by understanding that the
less reachable something become, the more competition will be out there to get it, and once you get
it you want the best one, which will be the skilled and experienced workers. In this case, all
the

Essay On Minimum Wage
Minimum wage in the United States has become an extremely controversial topic in today's society.
The cost of living continues to grow each year but why does the minimum wage stay the same? This
is a question that many people are forced to ask themselves each day. Many people who hold low
income jobs and can barley afford to survive must rely on government assistants. By raising the
minimum wage to an amount that would allow citizens to afford living standards our nations
economy would benefit greatly in many ways. The increased wages would in return be put back into
the economy through spending and government aid would decrease. The increase wages would also
allow for more paid taxes that would in return benefit the economy as a whole. Many of us have
held a minimum wage job or know someone directly who has, we are aware of the struggle in
receiving minimum wage checks but why has nothing been done to remove this struggle from the
nation? Many bills including one signed by President Obama have been denied by congress and the
issue continues to grow. Now is the time to increase the minimum wage and help the economy get
back to a better state. In today's society around 1.7 million Americans are working below or at the
current minimum wage level of $7.25. For these millions of Americans, they are forced to work
endless hours and in return earn a salary that is not livable. According to Career Trends, a website
that calculates cost of living, "For a given week, at the federal

Minimum Wage Is A Issue
Minimum wage is a contentious issue only because it is debated by a vast and eclectic audience that
cares for the heart of the matter. Minimum wage is at the source of the economist 's main interest; in
pursuit of discovering its connection to job loss. Countries all around the globe, maintain minimum
wage laws without any noticeable fluctuation. For this reason, it is coming to an apparent
importance to policy makers everywhere. Those that tend to earn a minimum wage are mainly
coming from low income and minority families. The minimum wage has attracted attention from
social activists all over as well. The topic is perhaps most intriguing to the average, normal class
American. At some time in our long but short lives, almost every single person has been paid at the
minimum wage. Due to this, it is of popular debate over dinner, at restaurants, and in the typical
American living room. More importantly it's now being, and sort of always has been discussed by
those of our government. The United States of the 1990 's is a country of increasing disparity and
poverty; where the wealthy are moving ahead while at the same time the working class falls even
further behind. In this economic phenomenon, the middle class virtually is disappearing from
society. One of our many major defenses to make sure those of the working class is receiving a fair
wage, is legislation providing for the one. While several oppositions of the minimum wage cite labor
supply and demand concerns with a

The Impact Of The Minimum Wage
Anyone can drive through a drive–thru at midnight. Anyone can go to the store whenever they need
to pick something up. But, not everyone stops to think about the workers who slide the debit card or
bag the groceries. Many times, these people are making the minimum wage. Their lives and wages
are effected by an economy which never seems to stop changing. Due to the federal minimum wage
being recently increased, potential effects on employment can be explored on a national trend, in
individual states with higher minimum wages, and in the lives of teens.
In 1938, the United States sat in the middle of its biggest economic downfall known as the Great
Depression. The majority of the country struggled through poverty with little chance of gaining
employment. To try and help bring the country back to its feet, the United States federal government
set a payment level known as the minimum wage. Over time, the wage has been used to insure all
employees receive some sort of fair wage which is ideally high enough to live off of. As a result, the
minimum wage has continually been adjusted to match inflation and other factors of an ever–
changing economy. The most recent minimum wage increase came on July 24, 2009, and it rose to
$7.25 as can be found in the Fair Labor Standards Act (United States Department of Labor). With an
economy that continues to change, it is no surprise national employment rates do as well. Due to the
direct correlation between the two, it is easy

Minimum Wage Hik
Understanding the Risks and Rewards of a Minimum Wage Hike through Multiple Perspectives
Introduction
On an annual basis, workers who work full time at a job that pays the federal minimum wage make
$12,920 before taxes. Considering this level of income is at the borderline of the federal poverty
level of $11,770, many in the U.S.– low wage workers, farmers, and even economists– are calling
for a reexamination of the minimum wage policy. The purpose of minimum wage laws is to ensure
lower–class families receive a living wage which enables them to live with dignity. Advocates of
minimum wage hike question if the current minimum wage level is serving its intended purpose.
This report will investigate the rationale and implications of raising ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
One reasonable solution we can adopt is providing a vocational track for high school students who
seek employment after graduation. In a vocational track, students learn to master a set of vocational
skills they're interested in, as oppose to taking a series of required courses which they may perceive
as having no practical value. This system of secondary education is responsible for making Germany
one of the most successful industrialized nations in the world. Their education system sets students
best suited for higher education and those who "may fare better in vocational training" apart in
eighth or ninth grade. It is clearly working for Germany because in October, 2014, Germany's youth
unemployment was 7.7 percent compared to 12.7 percent for the United states. As shown, the
United States should consider giving students the choice to learn vocational skills in high school in
order to reduce the supply of lowly skilled workers.
Conclusion
It is time to rethink the decision that raising the minimum wage will help workers and the economy.
Because raising the minimum wage would only temporarily solve this problem, the economy should
find a solution that would benefit everyone in the long–term. Evidence shows the most reasonable
solution is to provide vocational training to create more skilled workers. If we do this, it is likely
that workers will get a higher minimum wage without creating rippling effects throughout the

U.s. The Minimum Wage
U.S and The Minimum Wage
The question whether we should raise the minimum wage came up a lot in the last election. In fact,
politicians and the media have of course done an amazing job at polarizing the issue. Most people
may know that the federal minimum wage in the U.S. is currently $7.25 an hour, but there are about
29 states that have their own minimum wages that are higher than the federal requirement. States
such as Massachusetts and California go as high as $10 dollars per hour. Actually, some cities like
Washington, DC and Seattle have passed an even higher minimum of $15 per hour. Although the
minimum wage is an important issue, unfortunately, it is usually grossly oversimplified by both
proponents and opponents. Before deciding ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Similarly, a survey of over 1000 employers and HR specialists show that:
"If the minimum wage were raised to $10.10 an hour, as President Obama has proposed, 38 percent
of employers who currently pay employees minimum wage say that they would have to let some
employees go to cover the cost. Among the same group, 54 percent say they would reduce hiring,
and 65 percent say they would raise prices on their goods and services" (Kast).
In other words, raising the minimum wage will clearly result in laying off employees. The advocates
of increasing the minimum wage are so innocent to believe that increasing the minimum wage will
help them get out of poverty. Nonetheless, it actually does not only help them get more money from
their job, but it also make them to be unemployed. Thus, with all that in mind, what would happen if
people raise the minimum wage? It's important to remember though that not all minimum wage
increases are the same and a more modest increase to nine dollars like President Obama suggested in
the past will obviously have less of an impact on the economy than an increase to $15 like some
others are pushing for. Now in terms of projections, if the minimum wage were to increase to ten
dollars and ten cents like some politicians have proposed, it is estimated that about 35 millions
employees would be getting a raise (Copper). Those numbers sound great, but this optimistic
prediction doesn't take into account the fact that some people might be

Minimum Wage And The Wage Essay
Patrick Eguilos
Professor Robin N. Royer
Political Science 120
7 November 2016
Increase Minimum Wage
Introduction
The United States' minimum wage has been a concerning issue amongst the low wage earners
because of the amount they earn is not enough for them to live on their own. Therefore causing the
citizens who earn minimum wage to have an impossible time finding a place to stay and expenses
for daily survival. Increasing the minimum wage will solve the issues that the minimum wage
earners make, thus increasing the chances of survival for the entire population. Inflation is one of the
reasons why minimum wage is a big issue, the minimum wage has not been keeping up with
inflation at all causing things that would regularly be cheap to be more costly than it used to be.
There are people who are against the raise of the minimum wage and may say that there will be an
increase between of unemployment rate between the younger people because of the fact
The current minimum wage is not high enough to allow people to afford housing Minimum wage is
so low that it will not cover your housing payments either house, condo, or even apartment. People
who earn minimum wage only do not earn enough money for any type of shelter by themselves, yes
they are able to live with family but the people who have to live by themselves can not even fend for
themselves with one minimum wage job. According to Swanson in What You'd Need to Earn in
Every State to Rent a Decent Apartment she

Minimum Wage and Its Implications
Minimum wage affects everyone. The current minimum wage is at $7.25 and President Obama
announced that he wished to see a change in the minimum wage, he wants to raise the hourly wage
to $10.10. A rise in the income of those who are employed will also raise the cost of hiring unskilled
labor and can potentially reduce the number of people hired by businesses. Also, if minimum wage
is raised then the price of the products that the companies are making might increase which will
continue the cycle of minimum wage not being enough to survive on. The increase of minimum
wage will result in negative effects that will have a significant impact on national economy. The
federal minimum wage originated in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) signed by President
Franklin Roosevelt on June 25, 1938. The FLSA originally only covered about 38 percent of the
labor force, mostly in the transportation, manufacturing, and mining industries. As the years went on
the FLSA began covering more and more people. Over the years, Congress significantly expanded
the coverage and increased the wage rate. Over the course of 76 years the federal minimum wage
has raised 22 times (Wilson). The first minimum wage stood at 25 cents an hour (Sherk). The last
minimum wage increase occurred in 2007, when Congress raised the wage slowly from $5.15 an
hour to $7.25 an hour in July 2009 (Sherk). Congress typically raises the minimum wage during
times of healthy economic growth and low unemployment. Who earns the

The Wage Is The Minimum Wage
Sammer hassan
Mr. S
English 9
6/5/16
"The minimum wage is the minimum hourly wage an employer can pay an employee for work.
Currently, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour (part of the Fair Labor Standards Act) and
some states and cities have raised their minimum wage even higher than that." minimum wage was
first introduced during the great depression in 1930s. Before it was introduced thousands of people
were forced to work in horrible conditions for pennies a week. Early attempts on minimum wage
was ruled unconstitutional by the U.S supreme court, because it restricted people from deciding
what they wanted to pay their workers. So employers still made there workers, work in horrible
condition through the great depression. Now that poverty is a huge national issue. President Franklin
D. Roosevelt made sure he would protect workers it was part of his mission as the president of the
united states of america. After being reelected in 1936 he signed the FLSA in 1938. Which put into
place a national minimum wage of 25 cents an hour. After the law was passed the minimum wage
was changed almost every couple of years because the cost of living is very high. In 1997 bill
clinton allowed states to make there own minimum wage. Today the minimum wage is 7.25/hour
there is continuing debate over whether that 's a fair amount of money to support someone there
days. Labor activists want the government to raise it while other point out the negative effects it
would have on the

The minimum wage for workers should be increased. First of all, raising the minimum wage would
reduce the amount of people who are in poverty. Moreover, raising the minimum wage would lead
to less premature deaths and allow many people to live healthier lives. Finally, raising the minimum
wage would reduce the amount of crime the occurs. Let's take a look at some proof.
If the minimum wage is increased for workers then there would be a decrease in the amount of
people who are in poverty and allow them to afford their basic essentials for their everyday life..
According to the article Should the Minimum Wage be Increased? it says "According to a 2014
Government–related Budget Office report, increasing the minimum wage to $9 would lift 300,000
people out of poorness, and an increase to $10.10 would lift 900,000 people out of poorness." To
begin, by increasing workers pay it would lift an amount of people out of poverty, allowing them to
provide for their families and buying foods that would be needed to live an everyday normal life. It
would allow adults that are starting off their life to afford their everyday essentials such as food and
clothing to wear. The article Should the Minimum Wage be Increased? also says, "A 2013 study by
University of Massachusetts at Amherst money–flow expert Arindrajit Dube, PhD, guessed (a
number) that increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 is "projected to reduce the number of non–old
living in poorness by around 4.6 million, or by 6.8 million

The Benefits Of The Minimum Wage
Minimum wage was introduced more than 75 years ago as a benefit for employees throughout the
labor force. Many workers struggled to provide for their families during the Great Depression. Cities
nationwide were negatively affected causing crops, businesses, and the economy to fail. According
to Jones (2016), states that "The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 set a national minimum
wage of $0.25 an hour, a 44–hour work week, and the prohibition of "oppressive" child labor."
Ultimately, an innumerable number of workers were demanded to meet expectations in terrible
conditions for little pay. Because of the Great Depression, the wage minimum was constantly
increased which later caused the living wage to rise. Those who advocate for an increase of pay
often express that the current pay permitted by law is too low for anybody to live on. By giving
more career opportunities, decreasing income inequality, and increasing worker morals, the
minimum wage can be increased.
Although the idea of increasing minimum wage is a good one, the challenges for numerous
organizations is that they cannot bear to pay their specialists more, hire workers, and afford higher
cost of living; in addition, it has appeared to make it more troublesome for low–talented laborers
with practically no work involvement to discover employments or turn out to be portable. Raising
the lowest pay permitted by law at the government level does not consider typical price for basic
items varieties where the

In the United States there are 29.6 million Small Business which is 99.9% of United States
Businesses. Those small businesses employ 57.9 million which is 47.8% of United States
employees. The national minimum wage has a huge effect on small business and the employees of
those businesses. The federal minimum wage should not be raised because it will ruin small
businesses, increase poverty in america, and give a disadvantage to young adults.
The most affected aspect of the economy from raising the minimum wage are the small businesses.
Small businesses will quickly dwindle away from the raising of the national minimum wage.
Consider a small pizza shop. An increase in the minimum wage of 1 dollar an hour adds $16,000 to
labor costs. Going to 15 dollars an hour adds $128,000 to labor costs, almost 3 times the take–home
pay of the owner. This money is the money that is going to be taken straight out of the owner's
pocket. Affecting their family, business, and livelihood. Ask yourself how one of the 5 million small
businesses with fewer than 10 workers would handle this, well they can't. First off, the increase will
cause people to get laid off. If a pizza shop has 17 employees who all work two to three days a
week. These businesses can easily be decreased to ten or eleven people who work a lot harder and a
lot more frequent; Therefore people will lose jobs which will increase unemployment. Contradicting
one of the main reasons for raising the minimum wage. Secondly these

History Of Minimum Wage

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History Of Minimum Wage