The Economic Impact of Raising the Minimum Wage Labor Standards Act of 1938 and with it a national minimum wage. Echoes of this speech are still heard today. Senator Edward Kennedy (1989:S14707), in his criticism of the most recent increases in the minimum wage, said: The minimum wage was, as it should be, a living wage, for working men and women...who trying to provide for their families, feed and clothe their children, heat their homes and pay their mortgages. Adjusting for cost-of-living inflation since 1981 would bring the minimum wage to $4.79 today, instead of the $4.25 it will reach on April 1, 1991. This shows how far we have failed the test of fairness to the working poor. .” (Burkhauser 1)The American minimum wage is not indexed to inflation. As a result, the purchasing power of the minimum wage decreases as the price of consumer goods increases. The current minimum hourly wage is set at $7.25, but many states pay above that rate. In Michigan, for example, the current minimum hourly wage is $7.40. The last time there was a change to raise the minimum wage was in 2009. President Obama introduced a proposal to increase the federally required minimum hourly wage to $10.10 in 2015. Public opinion on this proposal is omnipresent, ranging from a positive to a negative perspective. Some of the negative remarks are that it would dampen the economy and reduce hiring by small businesses. "The survival budget for the average family of four in New Jersey is $58,500 and for a single adult is $25,368 in 2010. These numbers highlight... middle of paper.. . that is to say an imperfectly competitive labor market. conditions in which there is only one buyer of low-wage labor (or a group of colluding buyers) capable of setting wages at a level that no other worker has choice than to accept. Good old Econ 101 shows that under such conditions, an increase in the minimum wage, within a certain range, can boost employment and improve efficiency.” (W, W. 1)Works citedhttps://www.uwcj.org/pdf/alice.pdf http://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/cato-journal/1993 /5/cj13n1-8.pdf http://davidcard.berkeley.edu/papers/njmin-aer.pdf http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/01/04/economists-agree -raising-the-minimum-wage-reduces-poverty/ http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/03/business/the-minimum-wage-employment-and-income-distribution.html?pagewanted=all&_r =0http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2013/02/minimum-wage

Essay / The Economic Impact of Raising the Minimum Wage Labor Standards Act of 1938 and with it a national minimum wage. Echoes of this speech are still heard today. Senator Edward Kennedy (1989:S14707), in his criticism of the most recent increases in the minimum wage, said: The minimum wage was, as it should be, a living wage, for working men and women...who trying to provide for their families, feed and clothe their children, heat their homes and pay their mortgages. Adjusting for cost-of-living inflation since 1981 would bring the minimum wage to $4.79 today, instead of the $4.25 it will reach on April 1, 1991. This shows how far we have failed the test of fairness to the working poor. .” (Burkhauser 1)The American minimum wage is not indexed to inflation. As a result, the purchasing power of the minimum wage decreases as the price of consumer goods increases. The current minimum hourly wage is set at $7.25, but many states pay above that rate. In Michigan, for example, the current minimum hourly wage is $7.40. The last time there was a change to raise the minimum wage was in 2009. President Obama introduced a proposal to increase the federally required minimum hourly wage to $10.10 in 2015. Public opinion on this proposal is omnipresent, ranging from a positive to a negative perspective. Some of the negative remarks are that it would dampen the economy and reduce hiring by small businesses. "The survival budget for the average family of four in New Jersey is $58,500 and for a single adult is $25,368 in 2010. These numbers highlight... middle of paper.. . that is to say an imperfectly competitive labor market. conditions in which there is only one buyer of low-wage labor (or a group of colluding buyers) capable of setting wages at a level that no other worker has choice than to accept. Good old Econ 101 shows that under such conditions, an increase in the minimum wage, within a certain range, can boost employment and improve efficiency.” (W, W. 1)Works citedhttps://www.uwcj.org/pdf/alice.pdf http://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/cato-journal/1993 /5/cj13n1-8.pdf http://davidcard.berkeley.edu/papers/njmin-aer.pdf http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/01/04/economists-agree -raising-the-minimum-wage-reduces-poverty/ http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/03/business/the-minimum-wage-employment-and-income-distribution.html?pagewanted=all&_r =0http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2013/02/minimum-wage

Navigation

« Prev 1 2 3 4 5 Next »

Get In Touch