4 Aug 2022

102

The Pros and Cons of Raising the Minimum Wage

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Academic level: College

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Introduction 

The debate on whether the minimum wage should be raised has been on-going for decades with proponents arguing it will have many benefits. Proponents of the idea of raising the minimum wage from the current $7 argue that is necessary owing to the hard economic times, in addition, to other associated benefits of the same. However, those opposing the idea of increasing the minimum wage argue that doing so will have negative implications on the economy among other negative implications. However, after careful analysis of both the pros and cons of increasing minimum wage, evidence of the action's benefits outweighing the cost exists, thus supporting the idea. Increasing minimum wage from $7.25 is not only necessary but has many associated benefits, thus supporting the idea of raising the same. The aim of this essay, therefore, is to persuade its audience on the importance of increasing the minimum wage from the current amount of $7.25. 

Over the last years, poverty levels have been rising in the United States. There are also numerous instances of inequalities, as well as instances in which full-time worker productivity is dwindling. These occurrences call for federal government intervention, which may include addressing certain policies such as increasing the federal minimum wage (Gindling, 2018) . Thus, by increasing the minimum wage from$7.25 certain issues will be addressed, while the American population earning minimum wage accruing certain benefits. Therefore, there is a reasonable argument with regards to the idea of supporting the idea of increasing the minimum wage. 

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By increasing the minimum wage, poverty levels will be greatly reduced even without necessarily having to increase the minimum wage by a large margin. According to research, there are various ways in which increasing the federal minimum wage could contribute to the reduction of poverty levels in the United States. Among them is raising the minimum wage in an instance where job losses in the informal sector are small (Gindling, 2018) . Similarly, increasing wages in the informal sector by increasing the minimum wage is likely to reduce poverty levels in the United States. In the event the minimum wage is raised among people who are the heads of low-income households, then raising the minimum wage translates into reduced poverty levels. There is also the instance in which safety net for low-income households can protect against increased poverty thus reducing poverty levels, especially when low-income workers lose their jobs and cannot find other employment opportunities owing to an increased minimum wage (Gindling, 2018) . Therefore, the mere fact that increasing the minimum wage from $7.25 has the ability to reduce poverty levels in the United States is reason enough to support the idea. More people should, therefore, join forces in an effort to end or reduce poverty by advocating for an increase in the minimum wage from $7.25. Even though America is not a developing country, it is still influenced by increased poverty levels, thus increasing the minimum wage will still benefit Americans. 

Owing to the tough economic times, the moral of many employees have been negatively influenced by the fact that they do not earn enough wages to fend for themselves, as well as their families. Therefore, in order to improve worker productivity, certain measures such as increasing the minimum wage can be adopted (Belman, & Wolfson, 2014) . There is a direct relation between what employees earn as their wages and their productivity, which is deemed as directly proportional. Therefore, the more workers earn the more productivity they demonstrate, which is reason enough to call for an increase in the minimum wage. Using the 1968 hourly minimum wage as a benchmark, the minimum wage as at 2012 would have reached $21.72; if at all workers were paid their productivity's worth (Belman, & Wolfson, 2014) . The idea of paying workers, a wage that is adequate enough to sustain comfortable living will cause them to become more invested, thus promoting and increasing their productivity. For that reason, the idea of increasing minimum wage is an ideal way of improving worker productivity since it makes the put more effort into their work, thus the reason for supporting the idea of increasing the minimum wage. By increasing effort in their work, workers get more work is done, which ultimately increases their productivity. 

Increasing the minimum wage will also translate into the benefit of decreased employee turnover (Belman, & Wolfson, 2014) . The current minimum wage has resulted in employees looking for other opportunities that can make them more money, which results in increased employee turnover. Employees who have employers that compensate them better tend to have better productivity when compared to their counterparts. This is because employees are better performers when they have been compensated adequately, which is made possible by increasing the minimum wage. As a result, the concept of increasing the minimum wage is done in an attempt to promote increased worker performance. Decreased employee turnover translates into saving the companies employees work for money since employees are ever present owing to the increased minimum wage. Once employees receive sufficient pay for the labour they offer there is a high likelihood that they may not need to work other jobs in order to make jobs meet, which will reduce the instances of employee turnover (Neumark & Wascher, 2007) . This is because employees can focus on a single job that does not exhaust them to the point where they have to miss certain days of work. 

Another reason why the minimum wage should be increased is that it will reduce the issue of racial based inequality, as well as gender inequality. The issue of gender and racial based inequality is not just something that the local government should be dealing with alone, but also the federal government can intervene through increasing the minimum wage. Racial and gender-based inequalities negatively influence employee productivity, which in turn negatively influence the performance of a company (Neumark & Wascher, 2007) . When many companies in a country perform poorly, the economy of that country performs poorly as well, which may have associated negative implications such as inflation as well as increased poverty levels. Hence, by eliminating gender and racial-based inequalities through increasing the minimum wage, such negative implications can be avoided, which also boosts the economy of the country. Gender and racial based gender have been at the center of the unemployment issue, which has been problematic in the country and can be solved by increasing the minimum wage. However, it should be noted that increasing the minimum wage alone cannot entirely solve the issue of gender and racial-based inequality. It can, however, address the issue to a certain extent, which is reason enough to support the idea of increasing the minimum wage. 

Conclusion 

There are many benefits of increasing the minimum wage which will not only benefit a certain population in the United States but a significant part of the American population. By increasing the minimum wage, racial based inequality, as well as gender inequality, will be decreased. Similarly, poverty levels will also be decreased by increasing the minimum wage since people will be earning sufficient funds to drive away poverty. Increasing minimum wage will also contribute to decreased employee turnover as employees will not seek other jobs to make ends meet. In addition to that, increasing the minimum wage will also ensure all Americans, especially low-income families in America are able to survive and thrive in the tough economic times. Despite the fact that increasing the minimum wage may not solve all the problem of the American people, it has more benefits that call for consideration of the act of taking the action. Therefore, based on the benefits explored among others, increasing the minimum wage is a viable action, thus should be considered. 

References 

Belman, D., & Wolfson, P. J. (2014).  What does the minimum wage do?

Gindling, T. H. (2018). Does increasing the minimum wage reduce poverty in developing countries?.  IZA World of Labor

Neumark, D., & Wascher, W. L. (2007).  Minimum Wages and Employment

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StudyBounty. (2023, September 17). The Pros and Cons of Raising the Minimum Wage.
https://studybounty.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-raising-the-minimum-wage-essay

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