Arguments for and against raising the minimum wage

Arguments for and against raising the minimum wage. Should the US government raise it?
The minimum wage has always been a highly controversial topic, which should not really be a surprise to anyone. Raising the minimum wage makes winners and losers. It is not merely a fight for money - it is a class war, not only between the working class and the CEOs, but also between the lowest paid workers, and white and blue-collar workers. Those who receive higher pay obviously are beneficiaries. But the money must come from somewhere. As a financial mechanism in the society of the United States, the minimum wage has helped to sustain many generations of workers. Yet, there are two sides to the debate over minimum wage increases. One side - the proponents - strongly agree that low-income workers truly do need some incentive to earn a sufficient living. Conversely, the opponents believe that changing said wage does not always help workers and can hurt businesses. It is an issue that both sides are very emotional on, because of how huge and impactful can the result of changing the law can be. Nevertheless, in my opinion the minimum wage must be raised.
Minimal wage throughout history Congress established the minimum wage at 25 cents per hour in 1938, according to the Fair Labor Standards Act1. By July 2009, the minimum wage had been raised to $7.25 an hour. Washington State boasts one of the highest minimum wages in the country – $11.00 per hour1. We cannot be sure how many people benefit from this, as the number of Americans who earn minimum wage has always been in question. In 2011, reports stated that 3.7 million Americans earned minimum wage, and that is equivalent to circa 2.9 percent of the working population in the country1. It is also important to note what types of workers get minimum wage earnings. According to Sherk1, there are two categories - young workers (still in school) and old workers (out of school). Moreover, these young adults are unlikely to live in middle or high income families, and they are typically not the breadwinner of their families. Fifty-four percent of them are part-time workers and two-fifths are married1. Other statistics show that minimum wage earners are not single and work full-time. Instead, they have entry-level positions in jobs that require some experience and education1. Thus, as history has documented minimum wage workers, it is obvious that they are not all poverty-stricken.
President Barack Obama has pledged to support an increase to the minimum wage of at least 9 dollars per hour. He also supported indexing the minimum wage according to inflation2 .This would create an increase in the minimum wage whenever the cost of living rises. During his 2013 State of the Union Address, President Obama “argued that hiking the minimum wage would improve the lives of millions of workers and their families”5. The Obama Administration backed legislation brought to Congress by Senator Tom Harkin and Representative George Miller. Because the two men feel that a hike to $9.00 would not be enough, they support increasing the minimum wage to $10.105. Unfortunately, in March 2013, the House struck down hopes for passing this minimum wage bill for a value of $10.10. Many reasons were given for the event, but, namely, there was division within the Democratic Party9. Now, the federal minimum sadly wage remains at $7.25 per hour and this last increase was made back in 20092. The debate over minimum wage can be found at all levels of society from the federal government to the states. Many people feel as though there are a number of benefits to raising the minimum wage; however, some people also believe that, by raising the minimum wage, Americans face many drawbacks.
Potential cons of the raise
There are many perspectives to the wage debate. First of all, many people believe that a higher minimum wage will increase unemployment levels in America. Some economic researchers propose that a high minimum wage will, in fact, create a significant loss in the number of available jobs in the US10. Then, there is the debatable point that increasing the minimum wage does nothing to improve the life of the poorest working class. Researchers claim that increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit would be more cost-effective than increasing the minimum wage10. Additionally, Wilson4 admits that the unemployment effects of a higher minimum wage fall on the disadvantaged, including disabled, lower-skilled, students and ethnic minorities. It seems, that those who are negatively affected by minimum wage increase are close to being poverty-stricken themselves. Moreover, there is the issue of “No Free Lunch” in which businesses make adjustments in hiring practices whenever there is a minimum wage increase. This means that businesses do not absorb the costs of minimum wage through profits4. Instead, businesses cut down the number of workers and make key decisions to maintain net earnings. “These behavioral res...