The Minimum Wage Should Be Raised

The current national minimum wage is $7.25. 20 States in the United States have already increased this on their own because they know it is not feasible rate for people to be able to live on. The minimum wage needs to be at the very least adjusted for inflation so that workers are getting accurate pay for their work so they can support their families and make sure they are still able to have essential needs like food and medicine and clothes. Another reason it should be raised is because it would help the economy, which in turn would help all Americans. The raising of the minimum wage would also help with the creation of more jobs. The current minimum wage of $7.25 is far too low and need to be raised. One reason the minimum wage should be
Congress instituted the minimum wage in 1938, at the time it was 25 cents an hour. The minimum wage last was raised in 2009 when it went up form $6.55 an hour to $7.25 and it has not changed yet even though many other programs have adjusted to the inflation. Things such as the poverty line, food stamp eligibility and social security have been adjusted accordingly to the changing inflation rates, but the wage rate has not. One of the highest rate for the minimum wage was in 1968 at $10.55. Since then the per person consumption of goods has risen 137% the total economic output has risen 109% and the total income has risen 100% (Babones). This means that based on consumption growth the minimum wage should be $25.05 to represent the share of the country’s total consumption and the minimum wage should be $22.08 based on national income growth. What that shows it that the $7.25 minimum wage does not accurately correlate to the rise of the consumption of goods and shows that it isn’t the true minimum wage. The minimum wage was not adjusted to inflation even though the typical worker today is almost twice as productive as in 1968. To return the minimum wage back to the value it was at in 1968 it would require a raise of the minimum wage to $10. Minimum wage means to pay someone the least amount of money for their work. Minimum wage workers have increased the amount of work that they do and also
They say that if the minimum wage is increased that the burden would be felt by the consumer because the companies would increase prices because they now have to pay employees much more. For example, according to Bryce Covert, if the minimum wage were increased to $15 dollars the price at fast food restaurants would rise by an estimated 4.3 percent. That means a Big Mac that is currently $3.99 would cost about $4.16. He also states that if a restaurant decided to change the size of their food instead of changing the price, that the Big Mac would shrink and where from 12 to 70 percent. If people don’t enjoy paying more for their product or don’t want to receive less of the product for the same price and if raising the minimum wage makes those things happen then people should not be for raising the federal minimum wage. There is however no clear relationship between the raising of the minimum wage and raising of prices. Between 1948 and 1988 the minimum wage more than doubled in inflation-adjusted value, but the inflation during this period remained stable. Also from 1968 to 1988 the inflation-adjusted value of the minimum wage fell by one third, but inflation still went up (Studebaker). If the minimum wage hikes were entirely offset with price increases, it would not be possible to raise the inflation adjusted minimum wage, but this is what happened between 1938 and 1968. The inflation