Should The Minimum Wage Be Reduce Poverty - 1807 Words

Imagine a society where people push themselves to the fullest and have the courage to overcome the â€Å"income gap† by taking the initiative to go the extra mile through education and starting their own businesses, rather than hitting the streets in protest, abandoning their jobs, and demanding a minimum wage of fifteen dollars per hour. On the surface, pushing the minimum wage up from $7.70 per hour seems the obvious solution, but is a mere Band-Aid on a deep wound. Creating more job opportunities, expanding business productivity, and most importantly, increasing the education and the skill level of workers will end poverty and boost prosperity. Fundamentally, the government should not raise the minimum wage for workers due to the†¦show more content†¦Furthermore, imposing an employer mandate to comply with paying a higher minimum wage will have negative consequences on the labor market. What makes this topic important is that former President Obama passionately ral lied for a hike in the federal minimum wage which never actually happened, but generated pressure on the states to take action. However, the major reason the new wage hike is going nowhere on a federal level is that the net effect costs jobs by businesses handing out layoff notices to the least productive employees and reducing working hours to compensate for the higher wages.2(p15) According to the data, The typical study finds that a 10 percent increase in the minimum wage depresses teenage employment between 1 and 3 percent.† 3(p13) Consider the scenario where a teen is applying for his first job. He has no work history and has few technical skills. At the minimum wage rate of pay, he may find entry-level work, but at fifteen dollars an hour employers will look for already skilled workers with more experience. Indeed, Professor Holzer, a graduate of Harvard University in American economics, verifies that â€Å"Many employers will be very reluctant to pay high wages to wor kers whose skills †¦ are so modest.†4 Increases in hourly wages do not work well as an anti-poverty measure considering that monetary incentives will attract highly-skilled workers, which leave less-skilled workers not only without a job, but also with less of anShow MoreRelatedThe 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 intensifiesRead MoreMinimum Wage Should Be Raised?958 Words   |  4 PagesMinimum Wage Louis Montgomery III English Composition 101 Mrs. Blackwell April 23, 2015 Minimum Wage Do minimum wage jobs help pay the bills? Do minimum wage jobs support the family? Should minimum wage be raised? Will raising the minimum wage reduce poverty? The idea of minimum wage jobs is to help people get work experience without having any skills. Most minimum wage jobs include fast food restaurants and grocery stores. Minimum wageRead MoreMinimum Wage Should Be Raised For A Better Standard Of Living1636 Words   |  7 PagesVamsi Sanagala Hannah Manshel Dec 15 2014 English 1 Minimum Wage Almost 3.3 out of 76 million workers in the US receive minimum wage (Source: BLS reports). Activists for raising the minimum wage claim that the federal minimum wage of $7.25 is the reason they are living in poverty, and that the wage must be raised for a better standard of living. Many people who take on minimum wage jobs are young and work in companies that don’t carry much prestige; however, they stillRead MoreThe Benefits Of Raising The Minimum Wage1656 Words   |  7 Pagesseem to be should the minimum wage be raised or should it be lowered or eliminated altogether. From where I stand minimum wage should be raised. Everyone is more successful when people are paid a living wage. Changes to the minimum wage would strengthen the economy and business, Lift Americans out of poverty, and will be unlikely to significantly impact prices. The only way to grow the economy in a way that benefits 90% is to change the structure of the economy. Paying pe ople a fair wage is a signRead MoreThe Minimum Wage Debate1637 Words   |  7 PagesThe minimum wage debate brings about a range of reactions from different people. There are those who believe that there shouldn’t even be a minimum wage and that wages should be determined by the markets. On the other hand, we have those who vigorously argue for increasing the wage minimum citing inflation, the poverty line and worker productivity. Regardless, we do have a federal minimum wage rate in the United States at $7.25 per hour, with some states having a higher minimum wage than the federalRead MoreThe Minimum Wage Should Not Be Raised1187 Words   |  5 PagesMillions of Americans live in poverty unable to find high paying jobs to support themselves and their families. A common belief is that paying a higher minimum wage would help lift people out of poverty by giving those with low paying jobs a higher income, however the evidence suggests otherwise. The 2016 race to the White Hou se heating up, the minimum wage battle is at the forefront of every economic discussion. The rhetoric between candidates within and across party lines is intensifying. ManyRead MoreThe Minimum Wage Act Of 20071607 Words   |  7 Pages Introduction In 1938, the first national minimum wage laws in the United States were passed as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which served as â€Å"a floor below wages,† to reduce poverty and to ensure that economic growth is shared across the workforce. Today, many people who work for companies that pay at or near the minimum wage and remain near or below the poverty level rely on government health and food security and income programs to supplement theirRead MoreMinimum Wage and Poverty 1171 Words   |  5 PagesPoverty is a significant topic that is being investigated, talked about and most importantly lived in by millions in America. Many American citizens, specifically the children are not only living in poverty, but they are living below the poverty line due to low minimum wage (Gidfar). A child living in poverty can face serious problems in the future. Reducing poverty should not be charity work. As citizens of the world it should be a social responsibility to find a way in which poverty can no longerRead MoreThe Effects Of Minimum Wage On The Economy1391 Words   |  6 PagesThe Effects Minimum Wage on the Economy The controversial topic about increasing minimum wage is debated countless times over the years. Minimum wage is the lowest wage an employer can pay an employee permitted by law. The contemporary federal minimum wage is $7.25. Minimum wage applies to all domestic workers but teenagers are the main receivers of minimum wage. Minimum wage has a major effect on the economy. The question is are the effects positive or negative. There are many arguments on whetherRead MoreMinimum Wage Should Be Increased1057 Words   |  5 Pages16 November 2015 Minimum Wage Should Be Increased Congress enacted the federal minimum wage in 1938, during the Great Depression. Congress had two goals; keeping workers away from poverty and boosting consumer spending for economic recovery. Today, there is a debate, whether we should increase the minimum wage again. Increasing the minimum wage is useful for several reasons. First, the current minimum wage has failed to keep up with inflation. Second, a higher income level reduces employee turnover