Segmentation

1. SHORT TITLE: MINIMUM WAGE 1
Minimum Wage: Argumentative Essay
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February 02, 2020

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Minimum Wage: Argumentative Essay
“Evidence from a static simulation implies that of the total monetary benefits generated
by a 12% increase in the real federal minimum wage, 16.8% would flow to workers in poverty”
(Lundstrom, 2017). The price to live has ultimately higher than most get paid. Therefore, living
check to check or getting government assistance is your only source of help. With an increase in
minimum wage this should decrease the amount of adults seeking help and less people going
without. But, when you think about it how true is this and will it ever really happen. I can
remember a few years back minimum was promised to go up to at least $10 an hour for
everyone; I have yet to see that happen. I can say here in Texas Wal-Mart raised their minimum
wage up to ten dollars to all employees current and incoming employees about two or three years
ago. When it’s all said and done who will reap the benefits of an increase and who will the
minimum wage increase effect? As a person who was only making $8 an hour at one point; most
likely we all will be impacted by the increase whether it be positive or a negative impact. With
us living in a world where the price of living seem to increase daily it is a full struggle for an
adult to make under ten dollars an hour and not need government assistance. For some this may
be a way of life but for myself and most likely a lot of others there need to be a change.
With change could there be greater issues that will continue to affect those make
minimum wage or slightly above? To answer that I would have to say yes. “Within the first
quartile of the wage distribution, individuals experiencing minimum wage increases of less than
5% have lower wage growth than similar individuals who experience no change in the minimum

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wage law, with the magnitude of the estimated effect ranging from 25.6 to 221.9%” (Lopresti
and Mumford, 2016). Therefore, with an increase there is some bad that comes along with it. For
example, low-wage workers who should get the bulk of a minimum wage increase are seen as to
be making more than those who are living in so called “rich areas”. It seems to me that minimum
wage is not put into play to help low-wage workers to put themselves in a better position than
they were before the increase. For instance, “from 2005 to 2008, 28 states and the District of
Columbia increased the minimum wage”; which only went from $5.15 to $6.25. Now, that was a
decade and today in 2018 minimum wage is still at a very low $7.25. With economy and world
we are living there is barely a way to survive without getting government assistance. With
Trump trying to get rid of government assistance including social security we all lose.
Does raising the amount of minimum wage cause a lower percentage of poverty? In the
article “The Effectiveness of Minimum-Wage Increases in Reducing Poverty: Past, Present, and
Future” the authors stated that “raising the minimum wage is not an especially effective anti-
poverty policy because most workers earning the minimum wage live in non-poor families, and
most workers in poor families earn wage rates higher than the proposed federal minimum-wage
increase” (Burkauser and Sabia, 2007). Therefore, if I were to answer it would be a big “no” and
not agree with the authors; especially when it comes to us here in the Houston, TX. There are so
many people living below poverty and not able to provide for themselves let alone a family, and
still working more than one minimum wage job just to still live pay check to pay check. They
also state that “there is little evidence of a significant relationship between minimum-wage
increases and the overall state poverty rate”; which is confusing in itself (Burkauser and Sabia,
2007). If there is no relationship one would not affect the other, and with low minimum wage
rate being paid to a lot of low income adults and families the amount of people living in poverty

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will continue to grow. Therefore, there has to be relationship between the two. People living
poverty are more so those who have not obtain any form certification or degree to achieve better
positions; are the same people working regular minimum wage jobs. Think about it. Just last year
it was found that “A larger electorate of low-paid workers, including those in full-time work,
combined with rising concerns from the public about the extent and injustice of poverty wages
are important factors drawing renewed attention to the politics and policy of minimum wages”
(Wilson, 2017). With this I can’t see why this issue hasn’t been brought more to forefront and
addressed any other major issue. Plus, I could see a greater minimum wage increase to at least
$10+ an hour could help a lot more people get off of welfare/government assistance.
Some many people can be affected by an increase of minimum wage, just as many will
continue to be affected without a minimum wage increase. Even some community colleges are
being affected by low enrollment rate, which low minimum wage could play a role in. After
examining the effects minimum wages rates have on the school enrollment William found that
“the outcome variable is a state’s total enrollment for higher education at schools granting only
associate’s degrees or below” (William, 2013). Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if the
enrollment rates have dropped. With some parents working minimum wage job to provide for a
family and no time to go back to school for a degree; you have more teenagers dedicating
themselves to the same minimum wage jobs to help themselves or their parents pay bills. Which
brings me back to those living in poverty are those working in minimum wage jobs. In order to
correct this is issue when would be a great time to increase minimum wage? One would believe
when low workers efficiency is low but “from an efficiency standpoint, at least—is when it is
already high” (Lundstrom, 2017). Which all in is not a bad thing. It actually help those who are
low-skilled and poor receive the increase; instead of assisting low-skilled well off individuals. To

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some this may not make sense but, for those who seriously living in poverty and barely making it
each day this is a welcome action.
Overall it is disappointment in today’s world and with price of living that we are seeing
increase everyday minimum wage is still at low $7.25. It is just about impossible for an adult to
survive off that amount of money without working two jobs that are both full-time. I believe the
poverty rate will of the US that was last estimated in 2016 by US Census Bureau is 12.7; will
continue to grow if there isn’t some form of increase to help those who living poverty and those
who are being taught to survive in poverty because things will never change. I’d like to see a day
where more jobs opened up offering a nicer amount of $10+ an hour to help prevent the
homeless and poverty rate from steadily rising.

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Reference
William, B. 2013. Minimum Wage and Community College Attendance: How Economic
Circumstances Affect Educational Choices. Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness. 9
pp.
Burkhauser, R. V. and Sabia, J. J. 2007. The Effectiveness of Minimum-Wage Increases
in Reducing Poverty: Past, Present, and Future. Contemporary Economic Policy (ISSN 1074-
3529) Vol. 25, No. 2. doi:10.11ll/j.l465-7287.2006.00045.x.
Wilson, S. 2017. The Politics of ‘Minimum Wage’ Welfare States: The Changing
Significance of the Minimum Wage in the Liberal Welfare Regime. Social Policy &
Administration ISSN 0144-5596 DOI: 10.1111/spol.12286.
Lundstrom, S. M. 2017. When Is A Good Time To Raise Minimum Wage?. Contemporary
Economic Policy (ISSN 1465-7287) Vol. 35, No. 1. doi:10.1111/coep.12169.
Lopresti, J. W. & Mumford, K. J. 2016. Who Benefits From A Minimum Wage Increase?. ILR
Review, 69(5), The Author(s) 2016 Journal website: ilr.sagepub.com.