Benefits Of Raising Minimum Wage
RHE 306
August 7, 2014
Raising the Minimum Wage Means Raising Prosperity During his state of the union address, President Obama made a call for a fair minimum wage of $10.10 an hour that would improve the lives of millions of Americans. One of those lives is Trion from Atlanta; Trion is a single mother that has a 5-year-old daughter with asthma. Trion’s minimum wage job is often spent on rent and other necessities, leaving little money to save for her daughter’s medicines. She shares her concern about the possibility of her daughter having an asthma attack that could end up in the emergency room (Harris). Raising the minimum wage will help people like Trion. In addition, the raise of the minimum wage could help the economy by producing …show more content…
more jobs, close the gap of gender wage inequality, as well as creating a better standard of living to Americans. Although many opponents argue that it does not help the people that need it the most, the raise of minimum wage has several benefits that cannot be overlooked; thus the United States should raise the minimum wage nationally to $10.10 an hour. People that disagree with President Obama express their disagreement by stating that raising the minimum wage does not help the targeted people he mentions in his speech. The opposing side notes that there is proof that an increase in minimum wage does not directly benefit the most in need. However, supporters state that it still benefits a large number of Americans. One of the arguments that the opposing side likes to argue is the assumption that the majority of the minimum wage workers are not the head of households and contribute to a small share of the family 's income (Neumark). The implication of this is that many low-wage workers that would benefit from an increase are teenagers. However, in reality 88% of those low wageworkers are over 20, making this assumption false since teenagers make a relatively small percentage in the total minimum wage workers. Another misleading point is that minimum wage wouldn’t make an impact to the poor because “about half of poor families have no workers, in which case a higher minimum wage does no good” (Neumark). However this argument is more complex than that. By increasing the minimum wage, the working poor would make extra money to spend and invest, making the economy flourish. In addition, this influx of money would create more job opportunities therefore resolving the problem of half the poor not having jobs (Shumlin). Finally, both arguments that are presented as reasons against an increase in minimum wage that can easily be discredited because the data is either misleading by looking at the family’s income instead of the individual or create a barrier by ignoring the fact that raising the minimum wage would create more jobs in the long run. As stated previously, one of the main benefits of raising the minimum wage is that it helps the economy by creating more jobs. One common misbelief about raising the minimum wage is that it leads to higher unemployment rates. What critics like to ignore is that raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour nationally provides 28 million Americans with more money to spend and to invest (Shumlin). This new influx of money builds a greater demand of goods creating more job opportunities to those that don’t have one. Furthermore, a study from Gap Inc. shows that an increase in minimum wage also causes work productivity to increase because of the new incentives that are given to the employees. Governors Peter Shumlin and Dan Malloy “conclude that raising the minimum wage makes workers more productive and therefore helps businesses retain profitability”(Shumlin). This new productivity helps small businesses by not only giving them more revenue but also by reducing turnover rates as well. The hiring and training of new personnel can be expensive to small business. By raising the minimum wage, employees from small businesses are most likely to stay with their jobs because of a fairer paycheck that they would receive. According to the office of trade representative, small businesses are the backbone of the economy. Thus the government should enact laws that help small business in other to help the economy as a whole. In addition to helping the economy, an increase in the minimum wage will help several Americans have a better standard of living. There are many Americans that live paycheck-to-paycheck that work full time. For being the wealthiest nation on earth, The United States should act to decrease this problem. In his state of the union speech, President Obama states, “In the richest nation on earth, nobody who works full-time should have to live in poverty’”(Lewis). Many countries including: Australia, France, and United Kingdom have higher minimum wages than The Unites States, and are doing well with it (Boesler). For being the “richest nation on earth”, it would be logical that USA be on top, however it’s number 8 in the world, which shows that our government prioritizes in other things instead of the standard of living of their people. In addition adjusted with inflation, the minimum wage was higher 20 years ago when Ronald Reagan was in office. Instead of moving forward with the standard of living, the United States is going backwards by not increasing the minimum wage (Boesler). Nonetheless, three out of four Americans agree with an increase in minimum wage giving hope that congress could approve this law to increase the standard of living of Americans. Consequently, there are many cities that have taken action on their own by increasing their local minimum wages and have seen positive results. One example is San Francisco; San Francisco has the highest percentage of annual job growth and has the second highest minimum wage in the nation. In addition, is not only cities, but states that are doing this as well. The state of Washington currently has the highest minimum wage and also “the state with the highest percentage of annual growth” in the country (Meyerson). The relationship between minimum wage and job creation is direct, since on average the cities with higher wages are doing better than the ones with lower ones. Seattle’s decision to increase their wage to $15 an hour was based on this. It’s a “step that cities and states can take to reverse the economy’s slide into low wages and begin the shift to a more stable economy that’s powered by a consumer class that can afford to spend again.” Giving money to the poor is not a bad thing; the poor will spend it back into businesses therefore greater demand will be created. This is the state that our nation needs to adapt into. Instead of keeping “stagnant wages” that don’t leave extra money to invest into the economical cycle, our nation has to think progressively and create an active economy. If cities that have increased their local minimum wage are doing better economically, there shouldn’t be a problem making it a federal law since the economy will increase with it as well. Furthermore, the raise of minimum wage will help close the gap of gender wage inequality. On average, women earn 23 cents less than their male counterparts. One reason why this gap exists is because many women are concentrated in low paying jobs (national women law center). The increase of minimum wage will greatly benefit these women because it will raise the wages of such jobs. In addition, the majority of the low wage women are single parents. “These women are our daughters, sisters and mothers who are often the only breadwinners in their family” (Shumlin). Just like Trion’s story, there are many others single mothers just like her. This could change with an increase in minimum wage, and if there is no negative effect in the economy, the choice should be simple. Raising the minimum wage is a great way to create a better nation.
It helps our economy by providing with more job opportunities and help small business with turnover rates. It improves the standard of living of Americans that work full time and only have money for the basics. Lastly, it helps to create a more balance gender wage gap between men and women. President Obama’s state of the union speech was the trigger for a better minimum wage. Consequently, many cities and states have taken action, however this is still far from the goal. Because of differences between the government Trion’s daughter will have to wait to receive her medicine. Just like Trion many other Americans are wondering when they will get their fair wage. Unless Americans vote for the right legislators in upcoming elections, it seems like the wait will be long. It’s our responsibility to support this cause to create a better nation to live in. So as President Obama stated, “So join the rest of the country. Say yes. Give America a …show more content…
raise.”
Works Cited
Boesler, Matthew.
"Here 's How America 's Minimum Wage Stacks Up Against Countries Like India, Russia, Greece, And France." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 19 Aug. 2013. Web. 12 Aug. 2014.
Harris, Seth. "Back on the Road: Living With the Minimum Wage." Work in Progress Back on the Road Living With the Minimum Wage Comments. N.p., 14 Mar. 13. Web. 07 Aug. 2014.
Meyerson, Harold “A Higher Minimum Wage Might Boost Job Creation” The Washington Post. N.p., May 21, 2014.
Neumark, David. "Who Really Gets the Minimum Wage." The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 6 July 2014. Web. 05 Aug. 2014.
"Remarks by the President on Raising the Minimum Wage." The White House. The White House, n.d. Web. 01 Aug. 2014.
Shumlin, Peter, and Dan Malloy. "No Brainer: Three Reasons Why a $10.10 Minimum Wage Is Good for America." Www.cnn.com. N.p., 5 Mar. 2014. Web. 5 Aug.
2014.
August 7, 2014
Raising the Minimum Wage Means Raising Prosperity During his state of the union address, President Obama made a call for a fair minimum wage of $10.10 an hour that would improve the lives of millions of Americans. One of those lives is Trion from Atlanta; Trion is a single mother that has a 5-year-old daughter with asthma. Trion’s minimum wage job is often spent on rent and other necessities, leaving little money to save for her daughter’s medicines. She shares her concern about the possibility of her daughter having an asthma attack that could end up in the emergency room (Harris). Raising the minimum wage will help people like Trion. In addition, the raise of the minimum wage could help the economy by producing …show more content…
more jobs, close the gap of gender wage inequality, as well as creating a better standard of living to Americans. Although many opponents argue that it does not help the people that need it the most, the raise of minimum wage has several benefits that cannot be overlooked; thus the United States should raise the minimum wage nationally to $10.10 an hour. People that disagree with President Obama express their disagreement by stating that raising the minimum wage does not help the targeted people he mentions in his speech. The opposing side notes that there is proof that an increase in minimum wage does not directly benefit the most in need. However, supporters state that it still benefits a large number of Americans. One of the arguments that the opposing side likes to argue is the assumption that the majority of the minimum wage workers are not the head of households and contribute to a small share of the family 's income (Neumark). The implication of this is that many low-wage workers that would benefit from an increase are teenagers. However, in reality 88% of those low wageworkers are over 20, making this assumption false since teenagers make a relatively small percentage in the total minimum wage workers. Another misleading point is that minimum wage wouldn’t make an impact to the poor because “about half of poor families have no workers, in which case a higher minimum wage does no good” (Neumark). However this argument is more complex than that. By increasing the minimum wage, the working poor would make extra money to spend and invest, making the economy flourish. In addition, this influx of money would create more job opportunities therefore resolving the problem of half the poor not having jobs (Shumlin). Finally, both arguments that are presented as reasons against an increase in minimum wage that can easily be discredited because the data is either misleading by looking at the family’s income instead of the individual or create a barrier by ignoring the fact that raising the minimum wage would create more jobs in the long run. As stated previously, one of the main benefits of raising the minimum wage is that it helps the economy by creating more jobs. One common misbelief about raising the minimum wage is that it leads to higher unemployment rates. What critics like to ignore is that raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour nationally provides 28 million Americans with more money to spend and to invest (Shumlin). This new influx of money builds a greater demand of goods creating more job opportunities to those that don’t have one. Furthermore, a study from Gap Inc. shows that an increase in minimum wage also causes work productivity to increase because of the new incentives that are given to the employees. Governors Peter Shumlin and Dan Malloy “conclude that raising the minimum wage makes workers more productive and therefore helps businesses retain profitability”(Shumlin). This new productivity helps small businesses by not only giving them more revenue but also by reducing turnover rates as well. The hiring and training of new personnel can be expensive to small business. By raising the minimum wage, employees from small businesses are most likely to stay with their jobs because of a fairer paycheck that they would receive. According to the office of trade representative, small businesses are the backbone of the economy. Thus the government should enact laws that help small business in other to help the economy as a whole. In addition to helping the economy, an increase in the minimum wage will help several Americans have a better standard of living. There are many Americans that live paycheck-to-paycheck that work full time. For being the wealthiest nation on earth, The United States should act to decrease this problem. In his state of the union speech, President Obama states, “In the richest nation on earth, nobody who works full-time should have to live in poverty’”(Lewis). Many countries including: Australia, France, and United Kingdom have higher minimum wages than The Unites States, and are doing well with it (Boesler). For being the “richest nation on earth”, it would be logical that USA be on top, however it’s number 8 in the world, which shows that our government prioritizes in other things instead of the standard of living of their people. In addition adjusted with inflation, the minimum wage was higher 20 years ago when Ronald Reagan was in office. Instead of moving forward with the standard of living, the United States is going backwards by not increasing the minimum wage (Boesler). Nonetheless, three out of four Americans agree with an increase in minimum wage giving hope that congress could approve this law to increase the standard of living of Americans. Consequently, there are many cities that have taken action on their own by increasing their local minimum wages and have seen positive results. One example is San Francisco; San Francisco has the highest percentage of annual job growth and has the second highest minimum wage in the nation. In addition, is not only cities, but states that are doing this as well. The state of Washington currently has the highest minimum wage and also “the state with the highest percentage of annual growth” in the country (Meyerson). The relationship between minimum wage and job creation is direct, since on average the cities with higher wages are doing better than the ones with lower ones. Seattle’s decision to increase their wage to $15 an hour was based on this. It’s a “step that cities and states can take to reverse the economy’s slide into low wages and begin the shift to a more stable economy that’s powered by a consumer class that can afford to spend again.” Giving money to the poor is not a bad thing; the poor will spend it back into businesses therefore greater demand will be created. This is the state that our nation needs to adapt into. Instead of keeping “stagnant wages” that don’t leave extra money to invest into the economical cycle, our nation has to think progressively and create an active economy. If cities that have increased their local minimum wage are doing better economically, there shouldn’t be a problem making it a federal law since the economy will increase with it as well. Furthermore, the raise of minimum wage will help close the gap of gender wage inequality. On average, women earn 23 cents less than their male counterparts. One reason why this gap exists is because many women are concentrated in low paying jobs (national women law center). The increase of minimum wage will greatly benefit these women because it will raise the wages of such jobs. In addition, the majority of the low wage women are single parents. “These women are our daughters, sisters and mothers who are often the only breadwinners in their family” (Shumlin). Just like Trion’s story, there are many others single mothers just like her. This could change with an increase in minimum wage, and if there is no negative effect in the economy, the choice should be simple. Raising the minimum wage is a great way to create a better nation.
It helps our economy by providing with more job opportunities and help small business with turnover rates. It improves the standard of living of Americans that work full time and only have money for the basics. Lastly, it helps to create a more balance gender wage gap between men and women. President Obama’s state of the union speech was the trigger for a better minimum wage. Consequently, many cities and states have taken action, however this is still far from the goal. Because of differences between the government Trion’s daughter will have to wait to receive her medicine. Just like Trion many other Americans are wondering when they will get their fair wage. Unless Americans vote for the right legislators in upcoming elections, it seems like the wait will be long. It’s our responsibility to support this cause to create a better nation to live in. So as President Obama stated, “So join the rest of the country. Say yes. Give America a …show more content…
raise.”
Works Cited
Boesler, Matthew.
"Here 's How America 's Minimum Wage Stacks Up Against Countries Like India, Russia, Greece, And France." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 19 Aug. 2013. Web. 12 Aug. 2014.
Harris, Seth. "Back on the Road: Living With the Minimum Wage." Work in Progress Back on the Road Living With the Minimum Wage Comments. N.p., 14 Mar. 13. Web. 07 Aug. 2014.
Meyerson, Harold “A Higher Minimum Wage Might Boost Job Creation” The Washington Post. N.p., May 21, 2014.
Neumark, David. "Who Really Gets the Minimum Wage." The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 6 July 2014. Web. 05 Aug. 2014.
"Remarks by the President on Raising the Minimum Wage." The White House. The White House, n.d. Web. 01 Aug. 2014.
Shumlin, Peter, and Dan Malloy. "No Brainer: Three Reasons Why a $10.10 Minimum Wage Is Good for America." Www.cnn.com. N.p., 5 Mar. 2014. Web. 5 Aug.
2014.