Essay Why The Minimum Wage Should Be Raised
America faces the issue of whether the minimum wage should be raised; three-fourths of Americans support an increase, while the other third does not support it or has no opinion.
In 2007, Congress modified the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 with the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007. This set in motion a sequence of raises in the minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $5.85 to $6.55 and a final raise in 2009 to $7.25 an hour (“History of Changes to the Minimum Wage Law”). At the time, numerous workers benefited. However, since the final federal wage raise in 2009, the cost of living went up significantly. According to Jack Quinn, Mike Castle, Steve LaTourette, and Connie Morella, groceries increased 20%, a gallon of gas 25%, and the average tuition to attend a community college has gone up 44%. These numbers cause many low-wage workers to dwell beneath the national poverty line. A struggle to pay for the expenses of living results. Quinn, Castle, LaTourette, and Morella do not …show more content…
Federal benefits are paid for through taxpayers. With a higher minimum wage, workers would bring home pay that does not place them below the poverty line. This puts those workers in a position where they no longer need federal benefits. Not only would the workers prosper from an increase, but any taxpayer would benefit. According to Quinn, et al, it is a win-win situation.
Currently, twenty-nine out of the fifty states pay a higher minimum wage than the federal minimum wage requires. Some of those states are just barely over $7.25 an hour; contrarily, others have wages as high as $9 and $10 (“State Minimum Wage”). This means more than half of the country has already raised their minimum wage. $10.10 would help one in five Americans (Quinn). Even though certain states have higher wages, they do not match $10.10. $10.10 is even below what the wage would be if it had kept up with inflation
In 2007, Congress modified the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 with the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007. This set in motion a sequence of raises in the minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $5.85 to $6.55 and a final raise in 2009 to $7.25 an hour (“History of Changes to the Minimum Wage Law”). At the time, numerous workers benefited. However, since the final federal wage raise in 2009, the cost of living went up significantly. According to Jack Quinn, Mike Castle, Steve LaTourette, and Connie Morella, groceries increased 20%, a gallon of gas 25%, and the average tuition to attend a community college has gone up 44%. These numbers cause many low-wage workers to dwell beneath the national poverty line. A struggle to pay for the expenses of living results. Quinn, Castle, LaTourette, and Morella do not …show more content…
Federal benefits are paid for through taxpayers. With a higher minimum wage, workers would bring home pay that does not place them below the poverty line. This puts those workers in a position where they no longer need federal benefits. Not only would the workers prosper from an increase, but any taxpayer would benefit. According to Quinn, et al, it is a win-win situation.
Currently, twenty-nine out of the fifty states pay a higher minimum wage than the federal minimum wage requires. Some of those states are just barely over $7.25 an hour; contrarily, others have wages as high as $9 and $10 (“State Minimum Wage”). This means more than half of the country has already raised their minimum wage. $10.10 would help one in five Americans (Quinn). Even though certain states have higher wages, they do not match $10.10. $10.10 is even below what the wage would be if it had kept up with inflation