Preview

Argumentative Essay: Poverty And Raising Minimum Wage

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1127 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Argumentative Essay: Poverty And Raising Minimum Wage
Hank Beasley
Composition 1
Mr. De La Garza
8 October 2013
Poverty and Raising the Minimum Wage
Poverty is a huge issue in America; in spite of, what is the correct way to fix this issue? Will raising the minimum wage relieve the poor making the economy stronger or will it do the opposite? The issue at hand is discussed through two articles supporting the increased minimum wage, and two articles against it. The pro side of the issue is discussed through the articles, “Fast Food, Low Pay” by Mark Bittman, and “Raise That Wage” by Paul Krugman while the two articles supporting the con side are, “The Minimum Wage Debate” by Kevin A. Hasset, and Michael Strain, and “Raising Minimum Wage Hurts Those it Claims to Help” by Ellen Sauerbrey. …show more content…
Since most of the people earning the minimum wage are younger adults and teenagers then this means an increase in wages would create job losses for the young people of America (3). This would happen due to the companies having to justify paying a young unskilled worker higher wages when the company could easily get someone more qualified (Sauerbrey 4). With unemployment rates as high as 43% for African American teenagers, and 22% for white teenagers the con side believes that raising the minimum wage will only make these numbers higher; which in sense narrows the chances even more of young Americans gaining work experience. While the con side wants to decrease poverty they are not okay with jeopardizing the jobs of the unskilled and young which leads the next topic to be about the earned income tax credits.
Krugman of the Pro side believes that raising the minimum wage will solve the problems of earned-income tax credit. Krugman states that earned-income tax credit is a good policy but it has a few problems that benefit the employers more than the workers (2). However, raising the minimum wage would help this problem with the tax credit because according to Krugman the two policies are actually complements of each other meaning a raise in minimum wage would even out the tax credit issues resulting in even more money for the
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Argumentative Essay About Poverty In America
    • 1810 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Argumentative Essay About Poverty In America

    Homelessness affects three and a half million people living in the United States each year. Unfortunately, families with children are the fastest growing variable of the homeless population (“Helping the Homeless” 1). There are many different variables that results in these people falling into poverty. These families or individuals are often forgotten or ignored, resulting in dropping out of their schooling to search for an employment opportunity. While some believe that these individuals should use their own resources to find their way out of poverty, others find that programs should be provided within the community to aid these individuals. These individuals should have to get back onto their own feet. However, they should have some government…

    • 1810 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Clausen: Pros, Cons Of Raising The Minimum Wage
    • 1685 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Clausen: Pros, Cons Of Raising The Minimum Wage

    This source has given me more insight to the controversial debate of minimum wage. It made me realized that by increasing minimum wage we would require the middle class to pay less for the lower class standard of living, which would be aiding society. A Con would be how it might cause an unpredictable inflation within the nation, and a repeat of the great depression might occur. Overall, this article haven’t changed my view of minimum wage; it only strengthens my already adamant opinion that minimum wage should increase in the United…

    • 1685 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Pros And Cons Of Raising The Minimum Wage
    • 586 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Pros And Cons Of Raising The Minimum Wage

    In the article “Would raising the minimum wage help alleviate poverty”, David Cooper makes a valid point on the subject. Cooper talks about how he believes the minimum wage should be raised because he thinks it will help end poverty. In his column he also gives statistics on why it would be better to raise the minimum wage.…

    • 586 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Arguments Against Raising The Minimum Wage
    • 57 Words
    • 1 Page

    Arguments Against Raising The Minimum Wage

    Critics against raising the minimum wage say that increasing the minimum wage would kill jobs and increase unemployment. Opponents of increasing the minimum wage use the 2014 report by Congressional Budget Office, "The Effects of Minimum-Wage Increase on Employment and Family Income" to support their policy of value (increasing minimum wage is bad). The CBO report…

    • 57 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Why Is The Minimum Wage A Bad Idea?
    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Why Is The Minimum Wage A Bad Idea?

    According to the Chicago Sun-Times, President Obama has committed himself to forcing the minimum wage up through federal intervention. If he becomes successful, it will only cause harm to the economy, resulting in higher unemployment and less advancement. As I do my research I find that there are a few reasons as to why the minimum wage issue is a bad idea. Minimum wage may have an unfavorable effect on new candidates to the workforce. Those who do not have enough to too little work experience may be influenced to work for less than the existing rate.…

    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Persuasive Essay: Raising Minimum Wage
    • 891 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Persuasive Essay: Raising Minimum Wage

    And in Georgia three thousand five hundred people have loss state benefits each week. There are 900,000 people out of work and out of benefits. Unemployed Americans who’s jobless and homeless will receive no benefits. Even more important than the number of low-wage employees living in poor household is the total of low-wage employees who are the head of poor households. While there is strong empirical evidence to suggest the increasing the minimum wage will have adverse employment effects-only 3.8 percent would go to single mother household as poverty becomes more a problem of house worked and not wage level anti-governed income policies that focus on incomes, such as the earned income tax…

    • 891 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Argument Essay: The Minimum Wage Debate
    • 1632 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Argument Essay: The Minimum Wage Debate

    First, if we apply the universally accepted law of supply and demand, both sides do agree that raising the minimum wage will result in a significant increase in unemployment, because as labor costs increase, employers will demand less of it. Employers will most likely cut jobs, raise prices, reduce benefits, outsource jobs to foreign markets, use technology and automation to reduce the need for human labor or a combination of these approaches in order to preserve profits. A less likely scenario would have companies accepting lower profits on behalf of their shareholders. For some small businesses in lower cost of living markets, like Mississippi and Arkansas, these changes may not be enough to prevent them from going out of business.…

    • 1632 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Influence Of Minimum Wage On Society
    • 257 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Influence Of Minimum Wage On Society

    In recent debates about remuneration, some controversial issues that have been brought up are about the federal minimum wage, and its influence on society. On one hand, some claim that the federal minimum wage is to low, and in fact, needs to be raised so families can earn a living wage, but also help the poor, promote job growth, support workers, and decrease prices on many goods. One advocate of this view is Aaron Pacitti of The Huffington Post who asserts that “Raising the minimum wage is good economic, good policy and good for workers” (Pacitti). Others, such as John Wihbey of the Journalist’s Resource, however, strongly disagree. Wihbey states that “the real effects of minimum-wage increases are negative: they hurt businesses, raise prices…

    • 257 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Should Minimum Wage Be Abolished
    • 1215 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Should Minimum Wage Be Abolished

    “I don't think that it is a terribly radical idea to say that in America, if somebody works 40 hours a week that person should not be living in poverty,” Bernie Sanders passionately exclaims in one of his campaign rallies. Unfortunately, the reality is many Americans do work full time and do not have a home to return to after working tirelessly to support themselves. It is an important duty of the American people to help bring these workers to justice and to give them the fair payment they deserve. Legislatures of America frequently debate on whether the minimum wage should be raised from the current $7.25 per hour or stay the same. Although some people argue raising the minimum wage will cause layoffs in low skilled workers, in actuality evidence suggests workers will most likely keep their jobs with very few exceptions. The federal minimum wage must be raised in…

    • 1215 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Arguments Against Minimum Wage
    • 2254 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Arguments Against Minimum Wage

    While the sentiment of helping the poor is admirable, it appears this argument is based on emotion rather than fact. Based on the conclusions drawn from the Southern Economic Journal’s 2010 article ‘Minimum Wages and Poverty’; “minimum wage increases between 2003 and 2007 had no effect on state poverty rates. Moreover, the proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to $9.50 per hour is unlikely to be any better at reducing poverty because (i) most workers (89.0%) who are affected are not poor, (ii) many poor workers (48.9%) already earn hourly wages greater than $9.50 per hour, and (iii) the minimum wage increase is likely to cause adverse employment effects for the working poor” (Sabia, J., & Burkhauser, R. (2010). Minimum Wages and Poverty: Will a $9.50 Federal Minimum Wage Really Help the Working Poor? Southern Economic Journal, 76(3), 592–623). The truth of the matter is that “minimum wage workers tend to be young. Although workers under age 25 represented only about one-fifth of hourly paid workers, they made up about half of those paid the Federal minimum wage or less. Among employed teenagers paid by the hour, about 21 percent earned the minimum wage or less, compared with about 3 percent of workers age 25 and over” (Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers: 2012. (2013, February 26). U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved September…

    • 2254 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay Why The Minimum Wage Should Be Raised
    • 686 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Essay Why The Minimum Wage Should Be Raised

    Federal benefits are paid for through taxpayers. With a higher minimum wage, workers would bring home pay that does not place them below the poverty line. This puts those workers in a position where they no longer need federal benefits. Not only would the workers prosper from an increase, but any taxpayer would benefit. According to Quinn, et al, it is a win-win situation.…

    • 686 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Benefits Of Raising Minimum Wage
    • 1110 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Benefits Of Raising Minimum Wage

    One of the most commonly asked questions in our society is whether or not the government should raise the minimum wage. While raising the minimum wage would not only lift individuals out of poverty, but it would also put our economy in danger. Raising minimum wage in the United States will destroy the economy because it will increase inflation, raise the unemployment rate and decrease corporations’ fundings due to labor cost.…

    • 1110 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Benefits Of Raising Minimum Wage
    • 667 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Benefits Of Raising Minimum Wage

    People say that raising the Minimum Wage will help reduce poverty rates in the United States (U.S.) that assumption is false. Increasing the Minimum Wage would only make it worse. "A higher minimum wage does not reduce poverty rates, and because of the perverse way that many government aid programs are structured, it will also do little to help the neediest minimum-wage families." (James Sherk). What Sherk says here…

    • 667 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Research Paper On Minimum Wage
    • 1183 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Research Paper On Minimum Wage

    In the city, minimum wage was eleven dollars per hour (Columbian 1). A team of economists at the University of Washington said, “Increased wages were offset by modest reductions in employment and hours, thereby limiting the extent to which higher wages directly translated to higher average earnings” (Columbian 1). Low-wage workers have few jobs and less hours because minimum wage has not increased (Columbian 1). Increasing minimum wage will not hurt the workers or companies; they want to find a nice minimum wage that helps the economy (Columbian 1). Minimum wage will be higher in the rural areas (Columbian 1). This article was exceedingly important because it shows what companies think and what it is like in the city. The question is not fully answered; we still don’t know what the higher class thinks about raising minimum…

    • 1183 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    The Importance Of Raising Minimum Wage
    • 2313 Words
    • 10 Pages

    The Importance Of Raising Minimum Wage

    There has been a lot of discussion regarding the increase of minimum wage across the nation. Currently, the wage is set at a low amount of $7.25 an hour. In today’s society it is almost impossible to live on only an income of $7.25 an hour especially for those who are raising a family. In President Obama’s 2013 State of the Union Address, the president proposed to raise the minimum wage to 9 dollars by the year 2015 (Luhby). A higher minimum wage would help people living in poverty by providing better means of financial stability, and it would also improve the chances of those people trying to escape poverty stricken living conditions. Another bonus to increasing the minimum wage is that it could potentially…

    • 2313 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More

Related Topics