With the upcoming presidential election approaching nearer, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have been pushing their agenda regarding their economic policies. One issue in the limelight is the presidential candidates' stance on minimum wage. Both Trump and Clinton seem to be in agreement that the minimum wage should rise, but none seem as aggressively interested in the $15 rate compared to activists who strive to make that a realistic goal from the Fight for 15 organization.
Terrence Wise joined Fight for 15 because a reality check that hit him when he was homeless for the second time with his fiance and three daughters because his fiance became ill. Many people in the Mid-Atlantic region work minimum wage jobs their whole life living paycheck to paycheck trying to make ends meet and when you can't work, you fall behind. Wise, 37, is currently employed at McDonald's and Burger King. After 20 years of experience in the fast food industry Wise is still only making $9 an hour at both jobs, no benefits, vacations, or paid time off. Keep in mind, federal minimum wage is $7.25. For these reasons, Wise has not seen his mother in 10 years or a dentist in 18 years.
Although pushing for a living wage sounds philanthropic and beneficial for society, there are many factors to be considered when creating such a policy. Raising minimum wages will cause small businesses to raise prices and cut employees. Robert Mayfield, franchise owner of nine Dairy Queens in Austin, Texas is against any government interference in the market. Businesses need to cut costs and many tasks are already being automated by machines. A rise in minimum wage would cause some more unemployment to businesses like Mayfield's. Despite this, Mayfield is in fact paying efficiency wages because his starting wage rate is $12. Doing this attracts more qualified laborers which is crucial to small businesses.
Policymakers need to carefully consider the pros and cons of raising minimum wage before they initiate any economic policy effects. Establishing a living wage is not as simple as raising minimum wage.
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I agree that Policymakers need to carefully consider the pros and cons of raising the minimum wage but I think that they should raise it. In my Social Problems class that I'm currently taking we have discussed the minimum wage and looked at research and case studies of if the minimum wage is "livable". In each case we have found that just relying on a job at the minimum wage is not enough to pay for rent or for gas or for food. There will be some cons obviously with raising it but that comes with everything that you do but in my opinion the minimum wage needs to increase.
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ReplyDeleteI think a rise in minimum wages would benefit a lot of people, but I think jumping from $7.25 to $15 would be too big of a jump. I think a better approach would be to slowly increase the minimum wage over the next few years. This way, businesses would be able to adjust more easily, and hopefully be able to combat the unemployment due to increase in minimum wages.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I largely agree with Kat that the wage should be raised, but slowly over time in order to give businesses time to adjust. On another note, however, I think this article brings up some important reforms needed that are not encompassed in the minimum wage debate. For example, minimum wage employers should allow for sick time off among other basic benefits, an important change that is needed but is not being talked about.
ReplyDeleteBy and large it seems like most of the comments are in agreement for a gradual increase in minimum wage. There was an interesting point that in addition to minimum wage, workers might also deserve to have benefits, but how could that even be integrated? Even if the minimum wage increases how long would it take for the costs of living to also increase the same amount? At that point, would we not be in the same position as we are now? We will still have people living paycheck to paycheck. Another option might be to give minimum wage workers benefits, but can firms afford to take on additional costs and services associated with this offering? From a firm's standpoint, it would be rather ludicrous to increase the minimum wage as well as offer benefits, but only increasing the minimum wage will lead to my earlier point. My other qualm about raising the minimum wage is how will it effect the poor, specifically unemployed or homeless people? Will that create an even larger gap between social classes making it that much harder for those in poverty to get back on their feet? I guess this takes me back to the original take away, that there are many, many factors to be weighed out when making a decision.
DeleteRaising minimum wage will benefit a lot of people, and I agree with Kat and Lydia that they should consider a slower approach on raising it. There are also people working for job that is not paid by minimum wage (servers.etc.), they will have to take long shifts in order to gain enough money.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with Yiling that the only focus of this article shouldn't be only to raise the minimum wage, because when a worker gets ill somehow and they are not able to work they are not getting any help from their employer and they are also not getting paid. In this article we can see this problem, when they show Wise's case, because when his fiance gets ill its when they start the real struggle because they are not only not receiving money because she is not working, but also they need to pay for some kind of treatment. So i believe in the presidential debate they should be talking not only about raising the minimum wage, but also about the benefits that this jobs have and how are they going to change this situation.
ReplyDeleteI think policymakers have to be judicious in how they raise the minimum wage. I think they should raise it slowly to align with economic growth. I'm pro for the minimum wage requirement, because I'm a worker. More money for me means more disposable income— who doesn't love more money. Why doesn't everyone agree to a higher minimum wage. Looking at the perspective of dissenters of there are a few select reasons:
ReplyDelete"Minimum Wages Target Workers, Not the Poor – Minimum wage policies affect people wth traditional, wage-paying jobs.
Minimum Wages Hurt Marginalized Groups – Let’s put aside for the moment the question of whether minimum wages laws create unemployment or not. Because even if they don’t affect overall levels of unemployment, minimum wage laws almost certainly change the composition of unemployment.
Some Minimum Wages Cause Unemployment – The standard economist’s argument against minimum wage laws is that, by increasing the cost of labor, they reduce the demand for it." (1)
Some states have exceeded the average minimum wage such as Seattle, Washington. It's not a crazy feat $15 as the minimum wage, but it's gradually building to it rather than accelerating the process.
(1) https://fee.org/articles/3-reasons-the-15-minimum-wage-is-a-bad-way-to-help-the-poor/