Minimum Wage: Increase or Nah?
DID YOU KNOW: historically, the minimum wage law was signed in 1938. It was set at a quarter, JUST 25 cents! This is equivalent to $4.11 today. It has had small increases over the years to make up for the loss in its real value caused by inflation. In 1988, my mom was a junior in high school and the minimum wage at that time was only $3.35. In other words, 50yrs after its birth, the minimum wage had only increase by $3.
The last increase was in 2009 to its current rate of $7.25/hr and recently, there has been great debate about a substantial increase to $15/hr. In fact, some states such as California has already increased its minimum wage to $10/hr this year and nyc also has plans to incr to 15$/hr by 2018.
This actually makes sense, since in these areas where the cost of living is much higher. So maybe the minimum wage laws should not be federally driven, but decided on a state level. It should be state regulated based on the individual cost of living for that state.
As a 16 year old, 15$/h sounds great; it would boost worker morale, it would improve productivity, it would reduce employee turnover, it would trickle down to retailers as people would spend more, people would be able to afford better housing. But I am against this national increase in minimum wage due to its negative impact on teens and economy of some regions within the U.S. Businesses could raise their prices to offset the cost of the higher wages for the staff, benefits such as bonuses may be cut, businesses may not hire as many employees or may not replace employees that leave, and most importantly TEENAGERS WOULD BE CUT OUT OF THE WORKFORCE.
The annual salary for a full time minimum wage job is less than $15,000, according to the National Center for Education Statistics as of 2008 the average annual salary of a college graduate with a bachelor's degree is $46,000. Which one sounds better to you? Minimum wage workers are usually young, adolescent, teenagers. 50% of minimum wage workers are under the age of 25. I have worked in a fast food restaurant and was being paid minimum wage. As a teenager, getting paid $8/hr isn't an issue because I'm working for myself and for my personal use, unlike Terron Lyons in the Life on minimum wage documentary, who had to support herself and her two kids.Working off of minimum wage for those who need to support themselves and others is a struggle. However if a company needs to hire an employee with the new minimum wage in action, he isn't going to choose the 16 year old that will take longer to train, take longer to adapt to the work environment and has no experience. No, he is going to hire the 30 year old with three kids, and more work experience. Employers may not want to pay these unskilled/inexperienced workers a higher salary. So us as teenagers, will struggle to find employment. And personally, I believe that all teenagers should have the work experience of a part time job. Those responsibilities, such as, getting to work on time, time management, multitasking, and customer service, will definitely be essential when pursuing a dream job. These requirements and responsibilities, will later be conditioned into skills and abilities.
This actually makes sense, since in these areas where the cost of living is much higher. So maybe the minimum wage laws should not be federally driven, but decided on a state level. It should be state regulated based on the individual cost of living for that state.
As a 16 year old, 15$/h sounds great; it would boost worker morale, it would improve productivity, it would reduce employee turnover, it would trickle down to retailers as people would spend more, people would be able to afford better housing. But I am against this national increase in minimum wage due to its negative impact on teens and economy of some regions within the U.S. Businesses could raise their prices to offset the cost of the higher wages for the staff, benefits such as bonuses may be cut, businesses may not hire as many employees or may not replace employees that leave, and most importantly TEENAGERS WOULD BE CUT OUT OF THE WORKFORCE.
The annual salary for a full time minimum wage job is less than $15,000, according to the National Center for Education Statistics as of 2008 the average annual salary of a college graduate with a bachelor's degree is $46,000. Which one sounds better to you? Minimum wage workers are usually young, adolescent, teenagers. 50% of minimum wage workers are under the age of 25. I have worked in a fast food restaurant and was being paid minimum wage. As a teenager, getting paid $8/hr isn't an issue because I'm working for myself and for my personal use, unlike Terron Lyons in the Life on minimum wage documentary, who had to support herself and her two kids.Working off of minimum wage for those who need to support themselves and others is a struggle. However if a company needs to hire an employee with the new minimum wage in action, he isn't going to choose the 16 year old that will take longer to train, take longer to adapt to the work environment and has no experience. No, he is going to hire the 30 year old with three kids, and more work experience. Employers may not want to pay these unskilled/inexperienced workers a higher salary. So us as teenagers, will struggle to find employment. And personally, I believe that all teenagers should have the work experience of a part time job. Those responsibilities, such as, getting to work on time, time management, multitasking, and customer service, will definitely be essential when pursuing a dream job. These requirements and responsibilities, will later be conditioned into skills and abilities.
So I propose a separate minimum wage rate for part time teens. As a teen, you rarely have additional responsibilities besides yourself , but it's nice to have your own money so you don't have to constantly ask your parents for things. As a teen, it would be ok to be paid $8/hr, but if you are an adult with 3 kids to feed, $320 a week minus taxes would not go very far. Employers are happy to hire teens at minimum wage, because so many of them generally apply for low-skilled, entry level jobs. However, if the minimum wage is raised to 15$/hr the teen will be competing with the father of three kids for this entry level position. The employer will feel compelled to hire the person with more experience. If we maintain the current part time minimum wage, we preserve the job market for teens, we give teens a chance to gain valuable work experience....showing up on time, multitasking, reporting to a manager, getting along with coworkers. Lessons that are only learned from experience in the workplace and we give employers an option to continue to hire based on need, and employers are not forced to raise the prices of their goods. Therefore, benefiting the many instead of benefiting the few and will provide better living and strong economy within the U.S.
Sources
Documentary, Life on Minimum Wage. Dir. Paul Solman. Perf. Terron Lyons. PBS News Hour, 2014. DVD.
Non-Print source, Interview with Dr.Sharon Steele, about minimum wage in the past.
Non-Print source, Interview with Dr.Sharon Steele, about minimum wage in the past.
Internet Source one, "Governor Cuomo Signs $15 Minimum Wage Plan and 12 Week Paid Family Leave Policy into Law." Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. New York State News, 06 May 2016. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.
Internet Source two, "Minimum Wage: Teen Unemployment." Employment Policies Institute. Employment Policies Institute, 1 Jan. 2015. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.
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