A paper on Humanities

The Link Between Poverty, Prosperity, and the Minimum Wage

The link between poverty, prosperity, and the minimum wage is the subject of this essay. There are disagreements over how the variables relate to or impact one another. A shortage or absence of a specific amount of material possessions or money is considered poverty. Being successful or having a lot of money is the state of being in prosperity. While the minimum wage is the lowest salary paid or legally permitted to pay, the term “minimum wage” is more specifically used to refer to a salary that has been set by a legitimate authority or by a treaty as the lowest that may be paid to active personnel generally or to a particular category of workers. According to research conducted by Schmitt (17), Americans experienced the most substantial annual upsurge in real income in nearly 50 years with 3.5 million elevated out of poverty as the economy developed and jobs augmented. The study focuses on finding out whether the good economic news also proof that the minimum wage increases enacted in states and cities have ascertained their benefits.

The Impact of Raising the Minimum Wage

According to Michael R Strain, the director of economic policy studies at the American Institute, raising the minimum wage increases the earning of some workers. Due to trade off, there is a cost to business of that increase, which must be absorbed somehow. Business engrosses some of the costs of a more excellent wage bill by hiring fewer staffs and charging higher prices for the services and goods they yield. There are fewer jobs for low wage workers. It’s also significant to keep in mind that the vast mainstream of the upsurge in earnings would benefit families that are not in poverty. The concerns are beyond whether the trade-off is good or bad but on whether there are healthier policy alternatives to minimum wage growth. Taking a look at the Earned income tax credit, unlike minimum wage increases, earnings grants identical to the Earned Income Tax Credit (E.I.T.C.) ensure the dollars we reallocate find their way to the waged poorly by openly targeting low-income families. Lastly, we need to consult whether there are better guidelines to help lessen poverty and escalate household income (Freeman 645).

Effects of Minimum Wage Surges Extend Past the Law’s Reach

Maurice suggests that Effects of Minimum Wage Surges Extend Past the Law’s Reach. He says that it is too early to display empirically, but believes that minimum wage surges will reveal their worth over time as workers incomes increases. Higher wages in the retail sector have by now been a boon to the economy and to low-skilled workforces, who make up the majority of low-income America. Some of the gains experienced are for those who don’t have the training to advance in a job. Nevertheless, for numerous low-income families, a job only is not sufficient. Since they cannot meet their basic needs, it is utterly impossible for them to have assets which are the cornerstone of financial stability as cited by Katz and Krueger (18). For low-income personnel to Soar into the middle class, other provisions is a requirement, too: Employment amenities that include abilities training, financial education, and right to use to government income aid can all help people escalate their monthly net revenue and build assets. Thus, Low-income societies need much greater admission to financial enablement tactics that work today.

Debate on the Impact of Minimum Wage Increase

According to Heather Boushey, the executive director, and chief economist. Some concepts sound too good to be factual. Some claim that one of those thoughts is: If you want higher incomes and reduced poverty, then you repay workers higher wages. This reasoning is leading policymakers around the country to upsurge their native minimum wage. According to Azaroff et al. (290), supporters of increasing the minimum wage contend that it will increase people’s earnings and make it stress-free for them to care for their families. Considering that many places have improved their minimum wage, this is evidence that policies to increase minimum wage transpired alongside real income additions at the national levels. However, an economist’s restraint is that correlation is not action, connotating that just because the two things occurred along a timeline that creates sense, it doesn’t mean that one triggered the other. Since higher wages can be offset by employers using less employee time, so that income doesn’t rise at the end, it is still debatable whether increasing the minimum wage raises income. In conclusions, the weight of the practical suggestion points to the notion that there have been slight or no employment effects from minimum wage surge around the nation. Some maintain that it hinders employment for some groups. Latest upticks in revenue and drop in poverty inform us that we have to utterly consider that raising the minimum wage has resulted in more good than damage.

The Importance of Finding Well-Paying Jobs for Escaping Poverty

Arindrajit Dube suggests that the simplicity of finding a job is vital for escaping poverty. As well as, it helps to have a well-paying job. Whereas not all low-wage personnel live in low-income households, there is a vibrant relationship between the two — a rapport that has strengthened throughout the previous few decades. Consequently, the wage progress that we have experienced at the bottom has also remained as a chief factor behind the decline in poverty. A tight labor market undoubtedly helps when it comes to increasing wages, but so do institutional policies. Public policies have played a role especially in some parts of the country as indicated by Gittings and Schmutte (1150).The current increases signal a growing success of the Fight for Fifteen movement, which has its foundations in fast-food consolidating and the push for a wage directive in Seattle. The weight of the proof as abridged by meta-analysis, as well as outcomes from careful studies that generate reliable control groups, propose that typical minimum wage escalations tend to have low employment effects while raising remuneration and earnings at the bottommost and decreasing worker turnover. Thus instigating a reasonable-sized poverty plummeting effect, in some parts of the country than at the national level.

Evaluating the Debaters’ Arguments

Using the Holistic Critical Thinking Scoring Rubric, I assign debater number one as strong debater because he is fair-minded and thoughtfully analyses significant alternatives point of view. The debater describes how raising the minimum wage results in fewer jobs for low wage workers and thoughtfully studies how earned income tax can be redistributed to aid the low wage households. Debater number two is a weak debater as he gives his personal opinion and fails to justify results or conclusions. He points out that minimum wage increase will empirically show their improvement over time as workers income rises. Also, he gives his idea of what he thinks will help the low wage workers, which is creating assets to help them build wealth. Debater number four is a fairly strong debater as he identifies relevant arguments. He is keen to find out what is behind the pay growth and does a survey on past research to evaluate his findings. Lastly, debater number three is a relatively weaker debater as she fails to identify strong, relevant counterpoint of views. The debater concludes with a general belief that raising the minimum wage has done more good than harm. She also ends with concern that, it is difficult to argue whether improving the lives of workers is a good thing.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is evident, that the good economic news is as a result of the minimum wage increases enacted in the states and cities. Its benefits cannot be ignored as those in the minimum wage bracket are the majority, and their effects cannot be assumed. More study needs to be conducted as there is a broad range of factors to be considered in this issue.

Works Cited

Azaroff, Lenore S., et al. “Wounding the messenger: the new economy makes occupational health indicators too good to be true.” International Journal of Health Services 34.2 (2004): 271-303.

Freeman, Richard B. “The minimum wage as a redistributive tool.” The Economic Journal 106.436 (1996): 639-649.

Gittings, R. Kaj, and Ian M. Schmutte. “Getting handcuffs on an octopus: Minimum wages, employment, and turnover.” ILR Review 69.5 (2016): 1133-1170.

Katz, Lawrence F., and Alan B. Krueger. “The effect of the minimum wage on the fast-food industry.” ILR Review 46.1 (1992): 6-21.

Schmitt, John. “Why does the minimum wage have no discernible effect on employment?.” Center for Economic and Policy Research 22 (2013): 1-28.