“The American Dream, Alive or on Hold"
Teresa
Professor Kellen
8 February 2014 “The American Dream, Alive or on Hold,” by Brandon King fails to identify the reasons why creating more jobs and raising the minimum wage would not be good for the United States economy. King states that “raising the minimum wage does little to make the poor richer.”(king 2012) The minimum wage in the Unites States is well below where it should be, the minimum wage was put in place During the Great depression to ensure that Americans could meet basic necessities. Creating jobs and the minimum wage increase is a major subject in todays politics and media outlets. The increase of minimum wage was implemented during The Great Depression to try and help boost the economy, and it worked. This move helped get the United States out of the Depression. A higher minimum wage has many benefits to the biggest percentage of the United States; it would affect the economy in a good way. Higher wages benefit both the earner and they also help the economy at large by increasing consumer spending. Americans would be more inclined to spend, when spending increases so do jobs and the economy(Reich 2010). Increasing the minimum wage would mean an improved economy and being able to sustain American recovery. Increasing the minimum wage will not only benefit the worker earning the amount, but also the other workers that earn more than the minimum wage. The minimum wage is seen as the base number from which their wages are calculated, so if that number is raised, their earnings will increase accordingly. The minimum wage barely covers the cost of living in the United States, Americans end up having more than on job to be able to sustain their household. The American dollar amount has increased in the past few decades but the correlation between the minimum wage has decreased. If the minimum wage had increased with the way the dollar amount has the minimum wage would be up to $21.72(dol.gov). In the past when the economy has lagged
Professor Kellen
8 February 2014 “The American Dream, Alive or on Hold,” by Brandon King fails to identify the reasons why creating more jobs and raising the minimum wage would not be good for the United States economy. King states that “raising the minimum wage does little to make the poor richer.”(king 2012) The minimum wage in the Unites States is well below where it should be, the minimum wage was put in place During the Great depression to ensure that Americans could meet basic necessities. Creating jobs and the minimum wage increase is a major subject in todays politics and media outlets. The increase of minimum wage was implemented during The Great Depression to try and help boost the economy, and it worked. This move helped get the United States out of the Depression. A higher minimum wage has many benefits to the biggest percentage of the United States; it would affect the economy in a good way. Higher wages benefit both the earner and they also help the economy at large by increasing consumer spending. Americans would be more inclined to spend, when spending increases so do jobs and the economy(Reich 2010). Increasing the minimum wage would mean an improved economy and being able to sustain American recovery. Increasing the minimum wage will not only benefit the worker earning the amount, but also the other workers that earn more than the minimum wage. The minimum wage is seen as the base number from which their wages are calculated, so if that number is raised, their earnings will increase accordingly. The minimum wage barely covers the cost of living in the United States, Americans end up having more than on job to be able to sustain their household. The American dollar amount has increased in the past few decades but the correlation between the minimum wage has decreased. If the minimum wage had increased with the way the dollar amount has the minimum wage would be up to $21.72(dol.gov). In the past when the economy has lagged
Cited: Downs, Anthony 1957. “An Economic Theory of Democracy.” New York: Harper and Row King, Brandon. “The American Dream, Alive or on Hold.” They Say I Say. Ed. Graff, Gerald. New York: Norton, 2012, 572-579, Print. Reich, Robert 2010. “AFTERSHOCK, The Next Economy and America’s Future.” Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.