Minimum Wage in the United States Essay

Total Length: 741 words ( 2 double-spaced pages)

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There has been a lot of news and talk about the minimum wage as of late. The talk has come from government, the lower-wage workers of America and other people who happened to be interested in the subject for whatever reason. However, many people that are speaking on the subject seem too interested in spouting soundbites and are concurrently not focused enough on economics and realities as they exist. While it is true that the minimum wage has not budged all that much in the last generation or so, it is also true that it is not a fix-all and there are consequences inherent to raising the minimum wage too much and/or too fast.



As noted in the introduction, the minimum wage has not moved all that much in recent years. It has gotten to the point that there have been times in the not-so-distant past that the minimum wage has been higher than it is now when adjusting for inflation. The peak of this occurred in the 1960's when the minimum wage was nearly $11 an hour as compared to the $7.25 that is seen now, both in 2016 dollars. Beyond that, the minimum wage has only changed twice in real dollars since the mid-1990's.
Indeed, it was raised from $4.25 to $5.15 in the late 1990's and then to its current level of $7.25 in the mid-1990's. Many people are demanding another shift at the federal level but it has not come as of yet. Many states and localities have adjusted their minimum wage on their own. Some are raising it as high as $15 an hour, either now or in the coming years, which is nearly double the current federal minimum wage (CNN, 2016).



However, raising the minimum wage is not a panacea. Meaning, it does not occur in a vacuum and changes to the federal minimum wage will have effects on the market in more than one way. Beyond that, the minimum wage should probably be different in some areas as compared to others given the fact that cost of living can be entirely different from place to plane. Further, the raising of the minimum wage can have a demonstrative effect on how many people are hired, by small businesses in particular, and what those people end up getting paid. When cities raise the minimum wage, many businesses react by….....

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References


CNN. (2016). Minimum wage since 1938 -- CNN Money. CNN Money. Retrieved 26 August 2016, from http://money.cnn.com/interactive/economy/minimum-wage-since-1938/

Rubics, D. (2015). New Mcdonald's In Phoenix, Arizona Run Entirely By Robots. News Examiner - Examine Your World. Retrieved 26 August 2016, from http://newsexaminer.net/food/mcdonalds-to-open-restaurant-run-by-robots/

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https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/minimum-wage-united-states-essay