The United States minimum wage

The 1938 Fair Standards Acts set the first minimum wage of 0.25 per hour in the United States. Because of the high expense of living in 1938, it was a reasonable rate. The amount was later increased in July 2009 to the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour worked. There has been much discussion over the lack of an increase in the federal minimum wage in comparison to the cost of living. Because Congress has failed to raise the federal minimum wage, several states have taken up the responsibility of boosting their own. It is evident that a lot of people would rather take the option of not working and to depend on the support of the government or other options of making a living because the core expenses of living are not being sustained on a minimum wage salary. The cost of living has been rising at a very alarming percentage, yet the adjustments of the federal minimum wage are being made at a slow rate. This essay will analyze the gap that is between the national minimum wage, and the cost of living as a result of several socioeconomic disadvantages the whole of the United States.

Bibliography

Addison, J. T., & Blackburn, M. L. (1999). Minimum Wages and Poverty. ILR Review, 52(3),

393-409.

The authors of this article explain their concept on the link that both the federal and state least possible wage to the coetaneous adjustments in the rates of poverty. State level information collected for thirteen years shows a reducing poverty effect of minimum pays among junior high school dropouts, young adults, and teenagers. An analysis is done by the authors on the relationship between labor supply and minimum wage, and it also tries to answer by promoting the impact of actual or hypothetical injunctions on an allotment that exists. This exercise uses outcome measures such as poverty gaps, the ratio of income to needs, and decile or quintile shares. In their conclusion of the research, the authors resolved that the state of the economy was exceptional in the states that had increased minimum wage higher than that of the federal government. The authors were unable to expound on the ramifications of the least possible pay in the 1980s and 1990s, but still, there is evidence that is suggesting the correlation of minimum wage to economic concerns.

Bergmann, E. (2016). Three out of four economists recommend raising the minimum wage:

A closer look at the debate surrounding Seattle’s minimum wage ordinance. Seattle University Law Review, (2), 593.

This editorial reviews the consequences of high minimum wage by evaluating the controversies surrounding the Seattle Ordinance with a particular target on the IFA claim it also demonstrates who will benefit from the increase as well as the effects on the economy. The current and historical arguments both for and against minimum wage laws are used to analyze the possible impacts of the Seattle Ordinance. The Note concludes that the U.S District Court rightly denied IFA’s motion for a first admonition which could frustrate Seattle’s experiments even before it began. Operations such as the plan by Seattle to implement a $15 minimum wage should be promoted and passed as the issue of income inequality is troubling enough, and it will also be an avenue for getting a solution. Lastly, the author in this article shows how an increase in wages will only support the poor and the effect it will have on the consumer.

Mumford, K. J. (2016). Who Benefits from a Minimum Wage Increase?. ILR Review, 69(5), 1171-1190. doi: 10.1177/0019793916653595

The author addresses the question of how the growth of a minimum wage will affect the income of laborers with incomes that are low in comparison to the pay the laborer will get if there was no minimum salary increment. The measure the author uses allows the effects to base not only on the first salary of the employee but also nonlinearly on the intensity of the increase of least possible wage. The outcomes showed that workers with low-wages who are affected by a slight increase in minimum wage most of the time have lower wage growth unlike when there would have been no increment in the minimum wage. An enormous hike in the minimum wage will result in an upsurge of the salaries of the workers who in the past received payment that was less than the new minimum wage and also the laborers with reasonably higher wages. The authors found insufficient affirmation of conglomeration in effect by age, gender, race, and income that made the process to be versatile.

Orrenius, P. M., & Zavodny, M. (2008). The Effect of Minimum Wages on Immigrants’

Employment and Earnings. ILR Review, 61(4), 544-563.

This review explains the impact of minimum wage requirements on the earnings and employment of immigrants and natives who are low-skilled living in the United States. Low skilled immigrants have a higher chance of being affected by the increment in minimum wage compared to the native this is because the immigrants earn less than natives as a result of the low levels of education, less social capital, and disadvantages in English skills. Results obtained from the Current Population Survey that was done between 1994 and 2005 do not show any evidence that minimum wages had negative recruitment effects on adult immigrants and the natives who did not complete high school. There is a possibility that the immigrants who possess low skills might have been deterred from residing in states that have implemented wage rates considerably higher the minimum set by the national government.

Rogers, B. (2014). Justice at Work: Minimum Wage Laws and Social Equality. Texas Law

Review, 92(6), 1543-1598.

The author of this article bases the arguments on the notion that a fair state will not only revamp assets, but they will also ensure that people relate to each other as equals. The concept of social equality is one that is more common with communitarian theories of justice as well as Republicans, but it is also pivotal to large-scale strands of democratic liberalism. Rogers goes ahead to argue that laws of minimum wage promote social equality and are even preferable than the direct shifts in several ways. He claims that workers pay to get increased of which it’s an essential approach to the social value of the labor is being provided. The power relationships work environments are manipulated by providing workers rights versus that of the employers. They also demand that the companies and consumers incorporate expenses of higher salaries instead of interfering with all distribution in all the states. The author concludes that the laws of minimum wage make it possible for people to important jobs that build them up rather than undermining their self-respect. The reduction of demand for acutely low-wage jobs is a risk worth taking to guarantee the provision of honorable work, and it might also end up being affirmatively good.

Meer, J. (2016). The effects of the Minimum Wage on Employment Dynamics. Journal of Human Resources, 51(2), 500-522.

This article by Jonathan Meer sheds light on the consequences of minimum wage increment and its outcome on the dynamics of employment. This topic is surrounded by controversial results regarding the research that has been established to give a clear and accurate conclusion. Jonathan uses the neoclassical theory on the hope of developing a precise prediction as the price of labor goes up the employers will demand less energy. By narrowing down the enormous amount of data that has been collected from the past years, it will be easier to sort out the statistical information focused on proper techniques and solutions. The author uses primary analysis on the repercussions of the minimum wages and the swift changes that are needed to be made with the focus of balancing out the new transition to new employment equilibrium.

Conclusion

The essay elaborated more about the minimum wage through different authors. As seen, the minimum wage has a lot of arguments that show the effect to the employees and employers. For instance, Jonathan Meer argued that what people earn should transition the employment equilibrium Rogers, on the other hand, contends that the salary an individual receives should instead build them throughout the career. Just with a few examples, it’s evident enough that all authors think positively when it comes to the minimum wage.

Bibliographies

Addison, J. T., & Blackburn, M. L. (1999). Minimum Wages and Poverty. ILR Review, 52(3),

393-409.

Bergmann, E. (2016). Three out of four economists recommend raising the minimum wage:

A closer look at the debate surrounding Seattle’s minimum wage ordinance. Seattle University Law Review, (2), 593.

Meer, J. (2016). Effects of the Minimum Wage on Employment Dynamics. Journal of Human Resources, 51(2), 500-522.

Mumford, K. J. (2016). Who Benefits from a Minimum Wage Increase?. ILR Review, 69(5), 1171-1190. Doi: 10.1177/0019793916653595

Rogers, B. (2014). Justice at Work: Minimum Wage Laws and Social Equality. Texas Law

Review, 92(6), 1543-1598.

Orrenius, P. M., & Zavodny, M. (2008). The Effect of Minimum Wages on Immigrants’

Employment and Earnings. ILR Review, 61(4), 544-563.