Change in Federal Minimum Wage
When you hear high school and college students talk about their employment experiences, all they seem to say is how they don't get paid enough. I've even said that myself quite a few times. Well, in a way, they are right; but this statement does not only include that average student, it also includes many adults and families who are trying to live on minimum wage jobs. In today's society, this is almost impossible. An increase in the federal minimum wage is in the interest of the nation as a whole, although it will impose some costs. This nation has finally realized that the time to raise the minimum wage is long past due. Federal minimum wage has not been raised in over 8 years, since September of 1997. This is only the second time that the minimum wage has remained unchanged for such a long period of time, the other period being between 1981 and 1990. At this time, the minimum wage is now only equal to about 32 percent of the average wage for private, non-supervisory workers. (Wendland) One of the main defenses of not increasing minimum wage sooner, is that business', when forced to increase the salary and wage expenses, will move parts of their companies overseas or suffer a profit loss in general. Through the process of surveying and research, it is believed that a raise in the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour would benefit around 7.3 million minimum wage workers immediately. About 8.2 million employees who receive only about $1.00 above minimum wage would also see a wage increase. Keeping this in mind, it is also speculated that only about 12.3 percent of the U.S. workforce would receive and kind of wage increase. As it is, many states have already increased the minimum wage on the state level to more that the federal policy's minimum wage, therefore there would not be much of a change. (Wendland) It is a proven fact that the primary cause of poverty is low wages. Through the annual study completed by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation and
Cited: "Federal Minimum Wage Facts." G Neil Tools To Manage And Motivate People. G Neil. 23 Sep. 2005 . "Trouble trends for U.S. working families." Denver Post 17 Sep 2005. 23 Sep 2005 Vrana, Debora. "Insurance higher than minimum wage income." Los Angeles Times 15 Sep 2005. 23 Sep 2005 Wendland, Joel. "Eight Years is Enough - It 's Time for a Raise." politicalaffairs.net (2005). 23 Sep 2005 .