Minimum Wage Problem

As stated before solving the problem of poverty may seem like a lofty goal, but different but different states within the United States have been able to enact certain polices which have dramatically reduced their levels of poverty and improved the quality of living for its citizens. According to the Economic Institute Policy’s policy Analyst Liana Fox, the current system of not adjusting the federal minimum wage yearly, causes the value of the minimum wage to decrease as inflation causes the cost of living to increase. This lack of action causes either one of two scenarios, either the states pick up the tab and enact minimum wage indexing or states do noting and the countries lowest paid workers are left with no way to deal the yearly rise
Indexing the minimum wage has not been enough to significantly lower the rates of poverty present in The U.S., in fact it has been noted that it is quite difficult and in some cases impossible to work full time under the minimum and support either an individual or a family. The United States has in the past and currently has enacted several welfare programs aimed at helping the working poor. Twenty years ago, the American welfare policy underwent a fundamental shift. Changes were made that put limits on how long people could receive certain benefits, in an effort to encourage welfare recipients to go out and find work, at the same time other programs were created or expanded to provide additional help to families with children. These changes also gave states more flexibility when it came to
As stated previously, the current value of the federal minimum wage decreases yearly as the values of the American dollar decreases and the minimum wage stays the same. Currently only about seventeen states have created indexing laws to retain the value of the minimum wage (Fox). Rather than occasionally raising the minimum wage, as has been done in the past, the federal government must amend the minimum wage legislature to account for indexing. As most of the people living at or around the federal poverty threshold work in low-skill and low-paying jobs, the current system qualifying for welfare programs through job training, and career counseling should only be optional. A guaranteed basic income of 10,000 dollars annually to every qualifying adult resident, would help to subsidize the cost of living for these low-wage earners. Those who qualify for the basic income would have to be legal residents and not currently incarcerated. The majority of existing social welfare program would still exist as a safety net for those in