why should we raise the min wage?

Question

the people on min wage shouldnt want to stay in the job and we shouldnt help them stay there, they should better them selves and get better jobs or they are content with where they are in the job chain and we shouldnt incurage this. The Consitution says you have the right to pursue happyness not that the government should provide it. start small and work your way up while not living above your means.

ok raising the nim wage does effect the economy every thing goes up in prices. I never said nim wages came from taxes. the government shouldnt tell a employer what they should pay any one nor should they tell a company how much money they can make. that is socialism not capitalism. dont give away your freedom for money.

Answer 1

While there are many people living on the poverty line and should be getting paid more than their pitiful wage; I do agree with you. At the end of the day, raising minimum wage won't help these people as the overall wage rate will increase and so will inflation, leaving them in the same position. Increased minimum wage is also very luring to kids who are wanting to leave school as it is and if they can leave to a higher wage, it is no encouragement to stay in school. Without complete qualifications, they may remain in these lowly positions and like you say, not strive to help themselves.

Answer 2

Nah. Good idea. First, see this video. If you can, use the video in the debate. It makes American CEO’s look bad, which they mostly are. If the minimum wage had kept up with inflation since the 80’s, it’d be well over TEN an hour right now. This is America. No one should work 40 hours a week AND live in poverty at the same time, but that’s what’s happening. When the top tax rates were around 90%, and union work was 40% higher, we had our most prosperous time in America. Then, you could work a working man’s job and own a home and raise a family, and the wife could stay home if she wanted to. Today, not quite. Just look at where the money went. The gap between CEO and worker pay is at an all-time high. And we give these guys the most massive tax loopholes you can imagine, for things like owning a Lear jet! We can’t engage in a race to the bottom, which is what happens when conservatives are in power. Look at GW’s reign. Look at Texas. #1 in minimum wage jobs per capita. Poor in education. High poverty rates. But the corporate elite are doing splendidly. We are the richest country on earth, but don’t have the highest minimum wage. We are the richest country on earth, but don’t have the best health outcomes. We are the richest country on earth, but don’t lead the world in education. We won’t be judged on how much our CEO’s make, but on how well we take care of each other and how well we treat “the least among us.” For now, we pretty much suck when it comes to paying laborers compared to other advanced nations.

Answer 3

Minimum wages could raise if immigration was slowed down, as each new persons that reach a market, the higher the offer and lower the demand... So my guess is that wether immigration slacks down a bit, or else, companies offering lower wages will move abroad. Of course small shop or restaurants can't really afford to pay more than a certain base, because of the market competition, with fast foods.
In any case minimum wages is not an easy issue to settle...
Most have no choice to get those jobs, either because of the place they lived, their education level, their family reality (singles, students, ect...). But when you are 30 something and still paid such wage, then something must be wrong, either with its social choices, or the area where he lives...
In such case moving where the jobs are should be the best solution...

Answer 4

Half of America makes $25,000 or less! We are losing jobs, not adding them, and as long as government gives out corporate welfare and business tax incentives and rebates, they have a right to dictate minimum wage!

Almost all of the money belongs to the wealthiest 0.5% of Americans, and one is not you!

And you think that companies should be able to set their own pay scales! That is why we are where we are.

You act as if corporations don't exploit workers because they can, and a market where almost 1/2 of those who are homeless have a full-time job shows how low those corporations can go when not checked by anti-trust because Republicans look the other way!

Our economy you think is a one-way street. That is the problem in America! It is not!

Lets see you turn down some of those cost-plus no-bid government caontracters, and watch people like Walmart exploit their workers and siphon off much of the money of communities, leaviing ghost towns in their wake, while they hire Chinese labor!

You want it both ways. That is NOT how free enterprise is suppose to work. It is the way you want it to work though!

How many years has it been since minimum wage has been increased? I quess during all those years that prices went up you can't blame them!

I suspect our oil prices, price gouging and corporate greed has more to do with prices than people who earn minimum wage, a wage that is below the poverty level!

Answer 5

What are you talking about. Minimum wage doesn't come out of tax payers pockets. How about it needs a raise. It hasn't had a raise in over 10 years. I think the economy and cost has risen a bit how about you? Raising the minimum wage only helps the economy, doesn't hurt it. So all the people making minimum wage should just leave their jobs? who would work at walmart then? It needs to be raised to offset the corporations that are making record profits and putting none of that money back into the economy. At the current minimum wage, you are living in poverty. Does this make sense to you yet or do you need more economic lessons? More money people have, the more they spend. Simple math.

Answer 6

Everyone knows that people can't live on a minimum wage alone, as we all have basic needs -- health, housing, clothing, food, etc. But minimum wage jobs are not there for people to live off of. More importantly, these wages actually create both inefficiencies and unemployment.

Think of employment as a proposed contract between two parties -- the employer offers to pay $X for services that he values at $X+$Z. If the government were to intercede and say "Thou must pay at least $Y (where X
Thanks to the U.S.'s free trade policies, raising prices of goods often tends to result in failedAmerican businesses. This is because imported goods are often cheaper to the US consumer than the U.S. made goods (since we don't have regulatory tariffs thanks to free trade). And why shouldn't these goods be cheaper -- some foreign laborers work for less than 10 cents an hour. Essentially, the price of U.S. made goods must reflect the price the company must pay to each of their workers, so that when the foreign goods are of comparable quality as U.S. goods, we should actually expect the U.S. companies to lose out every time. Hence, when these companies shut down because they are not profitable, this creates unemployment.

As for inefficiencies -- this is a pretty easy story to tell. Let's say I want to hire someone to move some firewood from my backyard to my frontyard. And let's say I'm willing to pay someone up to $5.00/hr for this, but no more. Three people in my neighborhood happen to be willing to take on this job for nothing less than $4.50/hr. Thus, if I offer to hire them all for $4.75/hr, we all stand to profit by $0.25 an hour. But now if the government steps in and says "Thou must pay at least $8.25/hr" -- then I have no reason to hire any of these people, and they in turn cannot be hired. Thus, the chance for mutual benefit for all of us has disappeared.

Answer 7

I think the minimum wage should be at least $10.00 an hour. If companies were forced to pay a decent wage there would be fewer people getting food stamps and other welfare programs. Why should the government support the people companies do not want to pay a good wage? Most of these companies have good enough earnings to pay their employees well. I also think CEO's are way overpaid. This has nothing to do with a college education. If all college graduates were guaranteed $100,000 or more a year, don't you think we would have more jobs for uneducated people. I mean we have college graduates working at McDonald's for heavens sakes.

Answer 8

The minimum wage is largely irrelevent anyway. Around here (Omaha, NE) even fast food workers tend to make over the minimum.

This issue is only a factor for two reasons: First, it is a good one for "populist" politicians to hammer on. Who wouldn't like a raise?

Second, unions like it because it (a) keeps lower skilled workers out of the market and (b) some union contracts are tied to the minimum wage.

Answer 9

Our citizens deserve to be able to make a living wage. People talk about stopping immigration and then they don't want to pay a living wage to the citizens. So tell me who is going to perform those service jobs? Are you going to start tipping at 25% instead of 15% or less?

Answer 10

Now which is it? By giving tax breaks it spurs the economy by putting more money in peoples pockets, if you raise the minimum wage and put more money in peoples pockets it hurts the ecopnomy? You know Ive voted Rep all my life, but statements like this make me wonder if the dems arent right when they say the GOP only helps the rich.