The High Cost Of Minimum Wage - 929 Words

The high cost of minimum wage For a while now many have been demanding minimum wage be brought up to 15 dollars. Strikes and protests for it are nothing new. Who wouldn t want to get paid more? This idea seems promising, but it may turn into a deadly trap ready to paralyze our economy. Minimum wage should not be raised to 15 dollars for at least several years because it will ruin our economy. It would be very costly, unfair and counterproductive if that were to happen. Raising minimum wage to 15 dollars is an expensive and tricky direction to take. It s impossible to do without running into serious consequences. Six dollars doesn t seem like much, but it s a big deal if that s how much more an employer would have to pay each employee in Massachusetts. America needs to be smart when it comes to minimum wage. Bassell explains how we have already watched the consequences unfolding of higher minimum wage in American Samoa: â€Å"American Samoa had to incrementally increase their minimum wage commencing in 2007.(...) and while the average earnings increased by 27%, prices increased by 34%, so life became more difficult for the entire island. Eventually, President Obama had to freeze the increases†(Instant). It s understandable that everyone wants to get paid more, but no one wants to pay for overpriced food, clothing and rent to name a few. If minimum wage goes up drastically inflation will get out of control. In order to pay their employees $15. 00, companies will be left withShow MoreRelatedThe Cost Of Idealism : Setting The Appropriate Minimum Wage1618 Words   |  7 Pages The Cost of Idealism: Setting the Appropriate Minimum Wage Blake Kaiser-Lack Williams Economics 19 November 2015 In Seattle this past August, Ritu Shah Burnham and his 11 co-workers at a small ZPizza lost their jobs and business to one seemingly beneficial culprit: the minimum wage. After huge wage hikes in cities like Seattle, San Francisco, and Oakland, small businesses similar to Burnham’s have been following suit due to increased labor costs that eradicate businesses’Read MoreRaising The Federal Minimum Wage1225 Words   |  5 Pages Study shows that wage increases do lower poverty, by 2.4% if wage at $8.00, consistent with other studies. (Washington Post/ Arin Dube) 1. Raising the federal minimum wage doesn’t cause substantial unemployment as most economists agree, including over 600 economists who wrote a letter to Congress urging a wage increase, and the Economic Policy Institute. A. Identify shortcomings of the opposition (fallacies they make, or weaknesses in the evidence they use) 1. Arin Dube’s study would be great,Read MoreShould Minimum Wage Be Raised?870 Words   |  4 PagesShould Minimum Wage Be Raised? Minimum wage has always been a controversial issue. Many politicians use the argument of minimum wage for their own political propaganda. Some may argue minimum wage should be raised, while others believe it will have detrimental effects on our economy if it is raised. Surprising to most people, minimum wage earners make up only a small percent of American workers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, minimum wage workers make up about 2.8% of all workersRead More The Negative Effects of Raising the Minimum Wage Essay1552 Words   |  7 PagesIf we took away the minimum wage, we could wipe out unemployment completely because we would be able to offer jobs at every possible skill level. -- Michele Bachmann Proponents of raising the minimum wage claim that if the minimum wage was raised, then many economic and social problems would be alleviated. This contention is at odds both with economic principles and years of creditable research. The effect of raising or even having a minimum wage has been studied extensively and theRead MoreImplementation of Minimum Wages Policies in Malysia1401 Words   |  6 Pagessectors, the wages of an employee had always been a matter of consensus between an employer and an employee depending on the elasticity of demand and supply in the labor market. It is not subjected to any government or legislative intervention, thought de facto minimum wage may exist as a result of custom and extra-legal pressure from unions. This matter which may be agrees upon between employer and the employee. However, the Parliament had recently passed new laws to impose the minimum wages of an employeeRead MoreMinimum Wage1471 Words   |  6 PagesThe issue of minimum wage and whether it should increase or not continues to be a hot topic among people. With today’s economy, families struggle to make ends meet due to their low income, while others argue that a minimum wage increase will do more harm than good. Others also argue that the minimum wage should in fact be the living wage (Huffington Post, 2016). As defined by The Balance (2017), a living wage is â€Å"the amount of income needed to provide a decent standard of living.† According toRead MoreMinimum Wage : Low Skilled And Young Workers1553 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction Minimum wage, a program created to help the poor, has every contrary effect to its well intentions. Throughout the history, people who hurt the most during minimum wage hikes are the low-skilled and young workers. Drastically raising minimum wage is meaningless as high inflation usually comes alongside with wage increases. Past economic statistics have shown that the rate of increase in inflation usually outpaced the rate of increase in minimum wage. Thus, the real value wage workers receiveRead MoreThe Negative Effects Of The Minimum Wage1282 Words   |  6 PagesMinimum Wage Should the government raise minimum wage? Should the government lower or keep the current minimum wage? Minimum wage is a very controversial topic when it is discussed between all parties. For those arguing for minimum wage increase believe that it will bring people living below the poverty line above it. Former President Obama stated, â€Å" no one working forty hours deserves to be living in poverty.† For those arguing against the raise on minimum wage believe that it has more negativeRead MoreGetting A Good Pay For Supporting My Family s Financial Needs936 Words   |  4 Pagesconsidering the cost of providing for such a family. In my family, everyone was working except my younger siblings and me. I can recall my parents telling me not to be concerned about the financial status of our family, but rather put all my focus on education. I used to see bills piling up and could only be settled when they were late. As I got older, the question of what was the cause of the situation at home became frequent. The answer to the question became vivid later after high school. The firstRead MoreThe Minimum Wage Should Not Reduce Poverty1214 Words   |  5 PagesMillions of Americans live in poverty, unable to find high paying jobs to support themselves and their families. Common belief persists that paying a higher minimum wage would aid in lifting people out of poverty by giving those with low paying jobs a higher income, however the evidence suggests otherwise. As the 2016 race for the White House heats up, the minimum wage battle stands at the forefront of every economic discussion. The rhetoric between candidates within and across party lines intensifies