Raising Minimum Wage
One of the biggest problems in America, affecting over 45 million citizens, is poverty. There is seemingly no solution to this, but many people are working very hard to come up with a way to lessen the sheer amount of poor people in the U.S. One of the solutions that has come up many times recently is that if the minimum wage was raised to an amount that would be substantial to care for a family, then the working poor could get out of poverty. Though this sounds great, there are some saying that this would not be beneficial to the economy, as it would cause inflation, and that the supposed “living wage” is not enough to buy an average apartment. However, minimum wage should ultimately be raised because it could help the poor get the money they
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need and help the economy by lessening poverty.
One of the main points against raising minimum wage is that there is no way there could be an affordable way to give the poor a comfortable way of living.
This is backed by the notion that the living wage that is being created, is not necessary. The argument is that “These new “living wage” minimums were expected to enable a working mother with one child to maintain a standard of living [...] however, a worker with a wife and two children [...] would remain in poverty” (Karp 90).This means that simple families of four would not be affected by the living wage that was proposed by the government. This could be an example of how it is not possible to give everyone in poverty a decent life without spending too much money. Karp argues that this could be hazardous because the country doesn't need anymore debt on its hands. However, this also helps to show the necessity of a salary raise. If the living wage is not increased, then there will be more and more people living in poverty every year. Also, the value of minimum wage has not been properly annexed to account for inflation. What that means is that “today, the real value of the minimum wage is about 20 percent less than when Reagan took office. Workers that receive tips have an even lower minimum wage: $2.13 per hour, unchanged since 1991” (Raise the Wage 1). If the poor people in the 90’s were struggling with poverty, and minimum wage has been “unchanged since 1991”, then there is obviously something wrong with the amount it is at now. If minimum wage was properly increased to account for inflation, then the wage in 1968, $1.60 per hour, would translate to about $10.90 today. Knowing this, there should be no reason not to raise minimum
wage.
Many of us don’t know what poverty is like, or how it feels to know that you can't support your family of five with your minimum wage job. This is how a big number of americans feel everyday, with that number increasing constantly. And without a pay raise, these people will most likely never get the help they need to live a decent life. In fact, “Minimum wage is not enough for a “modest” two bedroom apartment. In California's Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo counties, a worker would need to earn $28.06 an hour for an average apartment.” (Peirce 87). Considering the fact that California is the state with the most homeless, with over 135,000, this just isn't fair to these people who are living on the street. If minimum wage in one state is not even close to what it costs for an apartment in that state, then the minimum wage should be evened out. When people say that raising the salaries will take people out of jobs, there is just no evidence to support it. In fact, “Research is showing that cities’ living wage laws are causing few job cutbacks and are in fact lifting many families out of poverty” (Pierce 88). This proves that the living wage is helping people get out of poverty without the consequences that were thought to happen with an increase in pay. If cities that start a living wage are seeing an improvement in poverty levels, it would be ideal for everywhere else to enforce these laws as well.
Taking everything into account, it is very obvious that minimum wage should be increased in America. If there is a sure way to improve the lives of the poor, and it can easily be done, why not do it? Since the value of minimum has not increased in decades, something needs to be done about it. It has not been annexed for inflation, and this is causing people to go into poverty. If the living wage is working where it is enforced, then it should be implemented everywhere, because the people in poverty deserve a better life.
need and help the economy by lessening poverty.
One of the main points against raising minimum wage is that there is no way there could be an affordable way to give the poor a comfortable way of living.
This is backed by the notion that the living wage that is being created, is not necessary. The argument is that “These new “living wage” minimums were expected to enable a working mother with one child to maintain a standard of living [...] however, a worker with a wife and two children [...] would remain in poverty” (Karp 90).This means that simple families of four would not be affected by the living wage that was proposed by the government. This could be an example of how it is not possible to give everyone in poverty a decent life without spending too much money. Karp argues that this could be hazardous because the country doesn't need anymore debt on its hands. However, this also helps to show the necessity of a salary raise. If the living wage is not increased, then there will be more and more people living in poverty every year. Also, the value of minimum wage has not been properly annexed to account for inflation. What that means is that “today, the real value of the minimum wage is about 20 percent less than when Reagan took office. Workers that receive tips have an even lower minimum wage: $2.13 per hour, unchanged since 1991” (Raise the Wage 1). If the poor people in the 90’s were struggling with poverty, and minimum wage has been “unchanged since 1991”, then there is obviously something wrong with the amount it is at now. If minimum wage was properly increased to account for inflation, then the wage in 1968, $1.60 per hour, would translate to about $10.90 today. Knowing this, there should be no reason not to raise minimum
wage.
Many of us don’t know what poverty is like, or how it feels to know that you can't support your family of five with your minimum wage job. This is how a big number of americans feel everyday, with that number increasing constantly. And without a pay raise, these people will most likely never get the help they need to live a decent life. In fact, “Minimum wage is not enough for a “modest” two bedroom apartment. In California's Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo counties, a worker would need to earn $28.06 an hour for an average apartment.” (Peirce 87). Considering the fact that California is the state with the most homeless, with over 135,000, this just isn't fair to these people who are living on the street. If minimum wage in one state is not even close to what it costs for an apartment in that state, then the minimum wage should be evened out. When people say that raising the salaries will take people out of jobs, there is just no evidence to support it. In fact, “Research is showing that cities’ living wage laws are causing few job cutbacks and are in fact lifting many families out of poverty” (Pierce 88). This proves that the living wage is helping people get out of poverty without the consequences that were thought to happen with an increase in pay. If cities that start a living wage are seeing an improvement in poverty levels, it would be ideal for everywhere else to enforce these laws as well.
Taking everything into account, it is very obvious that minimum wage should be increased in America. If there is a sure way to improve the lives of the poor, and it can easily be done, why not do it? Since the value of minimum has not increased in decades, something needs to be done about it. It has not been annexed for inflation, and this is causing people to go into poverty. If the living wage is working where it is enforced, then it should be implemented everywhere, because the people in poverty deserve a better life.