hsdfgnh

Patel 4

The Minimum Wage Hike

Hemali Patel

Ms.Prusicki

English 1 R

12 June 2014

The Minimum Wage Hike

The debate over minimum wage has been going on for centuries and has now once again unfolded. In the year 2013, President Obama proposed for a huge increase in the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10. Of course this created a lot of controversy among the American people. Proponents for the increase believe decreasing poverty is what the economy needs to get back onto a steady pace while opponents are worried about the loss of thousands of jobs and the increase in prices for goods. The naive decision to increase the minimum wage will reduce small portions of poverty but as a result the economy will suffer with high unemployment and inflation.

To begin, the ripple effect will take a large toll on the economy if the minimum wage rises.

Minimum wages nationwide.

Map of minimum wage rates in the United States. Se...

Faith, Fraud & Minimum Wage

When employers offer jobs they usually offer a higher wage than what the minimum wage actually is, allowing the employee to make a lot more money than thought. As stated by Brookings.com, "Just 2.6 percent of workers are paid exactly the minimum wage…" (Harris and Kearney). A large portion of employees are paid higher than $7.25, eliminating the need for a higher minimum wage. If the minimum wage increases any more than $7.25, low-skilled workers are less likely to get hired because employers want the best employees and will pay extra for their labor. Due to the ripple effect, such high pay will abolish the economy and add an excessive amount of money to minimum wage.

Next, the entire reason as to why Obama called for an increase in minimum wage was to help those in poverty but hardly any of them will benefit. People in poverty tend not...