Raising The Minimum Wage In The United States
"Poverty rates are higher now than in the 1970s, thanks in part to the eroded value of the minimum wage."(Sklar). The low minimum wage is sinking more and more families into poverty.Families who only have one minimum wage worker can't support their families.Families with more than 2 children struggle to get along. Minimum wage workers are still making less than they did in 1997.The federal minimum wage was enacted in 1938 through the Fair Labor Standards Act. Workers have to adjust to the increased cost of living. The minimum wage today is $7.25. Sitting the minimum so low means that some families have to constantly juggle with what necessities to go without. The low minimum wage also means some families end up living in homeless shelters and
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Many families have to raise their children on a poverty wage. "Raising the minimum wage... ensure once more that a family of four with a parent working full time at the minimum wage does not have to raise its children in poverty." (Furman). An increased minimum wage would improve the living conditions of many minimum wage families. Then their children may have a chance at an education The increase from $7.25 to $9.00 could mean thousands of dollars in annual earnings for these families. "There are young adults trying to work their way through college on wages that have fallen far behind... A low minimum wage gives a green light to employers to pay poverty wages to a growing share of the workforce."(Sklar). Young people who are currently trying to get through college are struggling because of the high cost of tuition and the low minimum wage. When the minimum wage is set low, it encourages employers of minimum wage workers with their own agenda’s to pay their workers less. Some may argue that raising the minimum wage could potentially increase unemployment rates. As David Henderson says: "A comprehensive survey of minimum wage studies found that a 10 percent increase in the minimum wage reduces employment of young workers by 1 to 2 percent." The increase in the minimum wage entices some teenagers who should be in high school or college to drop out. These students take the place of other potential workers. A minimum wage Increases in the minimum wage can actually give some families higher wages while putting some out of
Many families have to raise their children on a poverty wage. "Raising the minimum wage... ensure once more that a family of four with a parent working full time at the minimum wage does not have to raise its children in poverty." (Furman). An increased minimum wage would improve the living conditions of many minimum wage families. Then their children may have a chance at an education The increase from $7.25 to $9.00 could mean thousands of dollars in annual earnings for these families. "There are young adults trying to work their way through college on wages that have fallen far behind... A low minimum wage gives a green light to employers to pay poverty wages to a growing share of the workforce."(Sklar). Young people who are currently trying to get through college are struggling because of the high cost of tuition and the low minimum wage. When the minimum wage is set low, it encourages employers of minimum wage workers with their own agenda’s to pay their workers less. Some may argue that raising the minimum wage could potentially increase unemployment rates. As David Henderson says: "A comprehensive survey of minimum wage studies found that a 10 percent increase in the minimum wage reduces employment of young workers by 1 to 2 percent." The increase in the minimum wage entices some teenagers who should be in high school or college to drop out. These students take the place of other potential workers. A minimum wage Increases in the minimum wage can actually give some families higher wages while putting some out of