Gerki 1

Hakar Gerki

Mrs. Singer

English II

19 December, 2014

The Raise of Minimum Wage

There is much controversy to whether minimum wage should be raised or not. Minimum

wage has been around since 1938, in that period of time minimum wage started out at just .25

cents. As time passed the minimum wage increased as the economy grew. Today the federal

wage baseline is $7.25. Minimum wage varies throughout states, but no state can have a wage

lower than that baseline. Minimum wage in this day is not nearly enough to sustain a family for

those who have a family. Women and minorities are affected most by minimum wage. A person

earning minimum wage is not able to afford ones basic needs such as rent for an apartment, cars,

gas, or even food. For those reasons I believe minimum wage should be raised.

Studies show that a person who earns minimum wage is not able to afford a comfortable

lifestyle, or even a lifestyle that is barely decent. In this article it says There isn't a state in the

country where it is possible to afford a two-bedroom apartment at fair market rent working 40

hours a week at minimum wage, according to a report on rent affordability from the National

Low Income Housing Coalition (Stuart, Deseret News). In that article alone it shows how a

normal person working 40 hours a week cannot afford to make rent on an apartment. An

apartment is the most basic need of a person, if one is not even able to afford that because of the

amount of money they earn something should be done about it. People who earn minimum wage

spend most, if not all of their money trying to fulfill their basic needs. This leaves them with no

extra money to spend, making them live paycheck to paycheck. Statistics show that 3.8 million
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workers were paid at or below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 in 2011. Since minimum

wage, in many cases, does not cover basic necessities of life, many people that survive on

minimum wage spend all or virtually all of the money that they make(Timeforaraise.org).

Raising minimum wage would not only benefit the working people, but it would also

benefit the economy as a whole. If people are earning more money they are spending more

money too. Also it benefits the government. The more income one is receiving the less

government aid they will need. In this article it says Someone trying to support a family on

todays minimum wage does not even reach the federal governments poverty line for a family of

three. They would make about $14,500 per year. The federal poverty line for a family of three is

$18,123. If the minimum wage was increased to a level at which families could sustain

themselves, fewer people may end up needing government assistance for housing, food, or health

care. This would be a significant benefit to taxpayers and to states budgets(Timeforaraise.org).

That excerpt explains how a person earning minimum wage now is not able to afford sustaining a

family and dont even reach the poverty level, they are below that level. Those who arent able to

support themselves and their family seek support from the government, thus leading to the

government having to aid those people. The more money people earn, the less government aid

they will need which means more money the government has to spend on other things bigger

than financial support to the less fortunate.

There are also double standards that apply to minimum wage situation. Women get paid

less than men in the work force. Most women in the work force get paid less than minimum

wage. With women earning less than minimum wage, this calls for more help financially from

the government. Single mothers are more likely to ask for food stamps and other things from the
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government to be able to provide for their children. In other words minimum wage is not

something that only affects some people.

There is also much said about racism being a part of minorities being paid less than those

of Caucasian decent. In this article it says The minimum wage disproportionately impacts

minorities. Blacks or African Americans make up slightly more than 11.5 percent of the civilian

labor force, yet over 15 percent of all minimum wage workers are black or African American.

The same can be said of those of Hispanic origin. The civilian labor force is composed of nearly

15 percent Hispanic workers, whereas Hispanics are nearly 19 percent of the minimum wage

workers (Timeforarise.org). These double standards affect society as a whole causing a gap to

form economically and socially.

Raising minimum wage would be something that would potentially boost the economy

and the poverty levels will lessen. If minimum wage is raised people would be more likely to

have more money left over rather than living paycheck to paycheck which eventually helps small

businesses grow. The more people earn, the more they like to spend, the more they spend the

more it benefits society. By boosting pay in the low-wage jobs on which more families are

relying on. A stronger and higher minimum wage will help restore the consumer spending that

help the economy and are the boost small businesses need in order to grow. A solid and strong

minimum wage is the foundation of the beginning of economic recovery.

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Works Cited

"Minimum Wage Not Enough to Beat Poverty, Research Says."Deseretnews.com. Elizabeth Stuart,

9 June 2012. Web. 19 Dec. 2014.

"Minimum Wage since 1938." CNNMoney. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2014.

"Time For A Raise Benefits of Raising the Minimum Wage." Time For A Raise. N.p., n.d. Web. 19
Dec. 2014.
"U.S. Department of Labor -- History -- Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938:."U.S. Department of Labor

-- History -- Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938:. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2014.

"Why We Should Raise the Minimum Wage." Why We Should Raise the Minimum Wage. N.p., n.d.

Web. 19 Dec. 2014.