What do you think of raising the minimum wage in the United States?

Question

What is your opinion. Is it a good thing or bad? Pros and cons

on a side note, only about 5% of the work force recieve minimum wage. And in my opinion, if you can't do better than minimum wage, you need some help unless of extinuating circumstances i.e. physical disabilites and such

Answer 1

The question should be, "Should we even have a minumum wage?"

Con: It makes it difficult for the USA to compete with countries with low wages and no mandated minimum wage, like India and China

Pro: Americans end up subsidizing low wage earners in the USA anyway, through free medical assistance, welfare, food, etc

So, there is a point of having some mandated minimum wage. Next question: "We already have a minimum wage. Should it be raised?"

Con: America is already failing to compete with countries like India and China, we're steadily losing jobs to them. Why make it even worse?

Pro: Americans are big hearted people, we hate to see anybody suffer. Especially Americans, forget the rest of the world. And anyway, why should we subsidize greedy American corporations with slave labor?

My opinion? A federally mandated minimum wage is something that needs to be fine-tuned regularly, much like how the US Treasury adjusts the prime rate, for optimum economic results. The figure shouldn't be based on goodness of the heart, it should be done by analytical means. I don't think we're ready for a raise just yet, seeing how many American jobs are being lost right now.

Answer 2

will strengthen to minimum salary are often mandatory to capture as a lot as inflation. there are countless signals appeared at, alongside with the tax bracket that an complete-time minimum salary worker falls into. At basically $11,000, you'd be considered below the poverty line if helping a relatives. The argument that it hurts the commercial equipment isn't a honest evaluation. it would want to have some damaging outcomes before each and everything because the marketplace adjusts. however, the quantity of effectual impact it has to counter inflation is adequate to stability it out contained in the destiny. The economic equipment can keep up itself from any type of strengthen even if that's carried out at a time at the same time as unemployment is low, housing sector is nice, and GDP income are intense. now's a great time to satisfy all those criteria so as that the impact from the replace is minimum...

Answer 3

It sounds like a good idea but I dont think it is. Raising the minimum wage increases the costs to the company who will find ways to absorb it. They may be able to cut expenses elsewhere. But many companies aren't able to and so they will end up looking at payroll as it is the biggest expense! They may decide to hire less employees to do more work or hire part-time employees so benefits dont have to be paid. Or they may look into outsourcing or having parts made overseas. Or they may just pass those costs on to the consumer. If they do that, it just makes it easier for foreign companies to sell more of their products since what they pay their workers is so little in those third world countries...resulting in less sales for the company and maybe even going out of business.

Answer 4

It's good. The current federal minimum wage is pretty low compared to the market wage that most low-paid americans make. It is a moral victory and a way to stop employers from exploiting those with bad information about what the market could really pay them. Because the wage is so low and the increase so modest and unemployment is relatively low, I don't think the negative effects will be felt strongly at all.

The purpose of any law is to protect the weak from the strong, the minimum wage to some extent prevents exploitation, I think it's good on balance, but I would not recommend making it too high or raising it when unemployment is high.

Answer 5

Well overdue! What's funny to me is that for years, greedy corporations would fight to NOT have to raise the minimum wage. At the same time while still getting their way keeping wages low, they still would have the nerve to outsource our good paying jobs to India, China and Mexico to name a few places. It is also funny how some people still talk about "buying American" when the big Detroit automakers have less Americans (on American soil) working in their factories than the Japanese automakers. pretty sad!

Answer 6

well it will accomplish nothing positive so I guess it would have to be a bad thing.

you raise minimum wage.. what happens? businesses hire less people. so then unemployment goes up.

also some businesses who could pay a low wage but at least the person could be full time and perhaps have benefits, will now cut back so some of their employees are part time, which will cut off some of those employees' benefits.

so now you have higher unemployment, and more uninsured people.

Putting more money back in the hands of the citizen and the business so that they can have that money to spend on new businesses and enterprise as well as commercial spending... that is the way .
You create more jobs, people now have a wider selection or choice of jobs.. they take the better jobs.. the low paying undesirable jobs now must make adjustments.. pay people more or offer some kind of benefits to be able to get people to work for them.
And that all comes down to tax cuts and incentives.

Those of you who dont get how it works can disagree but what I described is exactly what will happen. You cant force a business to pay people more money. Other than creating better opportunities elsewhere so that they have to pay people more money to get people to work for them.
Businesses that cant afford to pay more ( or just wont ) will find a way around it or they will go out of business.

Answer 7

It destroys the jobs it claims to protect and causes inflation. Here is how:

If a job is worth a certain amount, that is what is paid. Dishwashers are not worth much. Raising the minimum wage forces employers to either fire people or raise prices. If you do not like a job, quit.

Answer 8

Pros: It was due. Flat out fact of the matter is that politicians never forget to vote themselves a cost of living wage, but for 12 years they have blown off the poverty lever.

Cons: It should have been done every year, so the change would have felt gradual to the average citizen, now it is going to be done in bulk.

On the other hand, they say that McDonald's only has to raise the cost of their french fries 15 cents to pay for it.

Answer 9

Thank goodness, people are finally getting a raise after Congress has raised their own salary 8 times since the minimum wage has been touched. I got so excited for these people that I told the guy today who works in the yard that I was raising his hourly wage 3 dollars an hour starting tomorrow!!! God bless the Democratic party..............now let's see if they can start taking away from the rich, fair and square with tax loopholes, etc., and do something for middle America.

Answer 10

everything else is going up, up, up no way a person could servive too much longer on the minimum wage that is the law now