The Minimum Wage Should Not Be Abolished Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Minimum Wage Should Not Be Abolished - Essay ExampleThis discussion examines the benefits of raising the minimum affiance not only for those workers who would lucre monetarily but to employers as well and ultimately, the economy as a whole. Currently, the minimum wage stands at $7.25 which was increased from $5.85 per hour in July of 2009. This modest increase found minimum wage earners near the poverty line, about $16,000 for a family of three (Poverty Guidelines, 2006). The minimum wage had not been raised for seven years previous, the longest clip span since the law first went into effect in 1938. This decline in the real value of the minimum wage over that seven years translated into unhorse real wages for millions of workers and contributed to the income gap between poor working families and the middle class. Raising the minimum wage allows those who make minimum salaries to keep up with inflation. It withal helps those that need it the most such as single mothers and minorities. In addition, it pull up stakes cause a ripple effect in that wages will withal increase for those that make just above the minimum. In 1968, a full-time employee who earned the minimum wage made what would be the equivalent of $15,431 today, 44 per centum more than todays full-time minimum wage worker (Lee, 1999, p. 1016). ... decreased by 20 percent since September 1997. The minimum wage mute equals only 31 percent of the average wage for private sector, non-supervisory workers the lowest share since at least the end of World War II (Bernstein & Shapiro, 2006). whatever of those who oppose the increase have suggested that the dominant wage earner of families does not fall into the minimum wage category, that it normally applies to teenage summer workers. This assertion is not at all the case. The Economic Report of the President evaluated the evidence in 1999 and found that that this argument was indeed untrue stating in its report, most minimum wage workers are ad ults from lower income families, and their wages are a major source of their families earnings (Council of Economic Advisors, 1999, p. 111). Opponents also argue that raising the minimum wage will hurt the economy but, unlike the effects tax-cuts for the wealthiest Americans have on the economy, when the poorest in society have extra income they spend it on the necessities of life thus today stimulating the local economy. Employers generally oppose increasing the minimum wage. Their claim is that they would be forced to lay-off employees to cover the extra costs. This claim, however, has been proven to be unfounded. On the front-end, employers whitethorn indeed pay more to their employees after a wage increase but, as evidence indicates, the increased costs to employers are usually compensated for by benefits. For example, employees who make a wage that allows their families to subsist, rather than not, are less likely to secure other employment which reduces the employers employee turnover rate thus simplification additional training and recruitment costs. It also results in a decrease in absenteeism as well as higher