Is it worth raising
minimum wage to
$15/hour?
By Gabriel Gandara
Current minimum wages
throughout the nation
(1/1/16 data)
(NCSL)
(Gongloff, Mark)
Poverty levels before minimum wage increase (2013 data)
• 45 million people, or 14.5 percent of all Americans,
lived below the poverty line
• Americans in poverty fell from 15 percent in 2012 and
its been falling ever since
Average income before the minimum wage increase
• Median household peaked in 1999
• At its lowest in 1983
• Last recession was in 2001 and it technically ended in 2009
but with the poverty levels being so high still feels like we
are in the recession to some Americans
(Vorpe, Jonj) (Procon.org)
Pros to $15/hour
• Increase economic activity and job growth = more money
being circulated from the public to businesses
• A minimum wage increase would help to reduce race and
gender inequality
• Reduce poverty = upraise people who live below the
poverty line working minimum wage
• Reduce government welfare spending
• Increasing the minimum wage would have a ripple effect,
raising the incomes of people who make slightly above the
minimum wage
• The minimum wage has not kept up with inflation
• increase worker productivity and reduce employee turnover
• Reduce income inequality
• Allow people to afford housing
• Increase school attendance and decrease high school dropout rates
• The current minimum wage is not high enough to allow
people to afford everyday essentials
• Reduce the federal deficit
• Healthier population and prevent premature deaths
Robert Reich
• served in the administrations of
Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter
and was Secretary of Labor under
President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1997
• He was formerly a professor at Harvard
University's John F. Kennedy School of
Government and professor of social and
economic policy at the Heller School for
Social Policy and Management of Brandeis
University. (Wikipedia)
Cons to $15/hour
• Force businesses to lay off employees and raise
unemployment levels
• Increasing the minimum wage reduces the likelihood of upward
mobility
• Increase poverty
• Companies may use more robots and automated processes to replace
service employees
• Hurt businesses and force companies to close
• Disproportionately harm the poorest areas of the United States
• Increase the price of consumer goods
• Increase housing costs
• Teenagers and young adults may be shut out of the
workforce
• The free market should determine minimum wages, not the federal
government
• Disadvantage low-skilled workers
• Encourage companies to outsource jobs to countries where
costs would be lower
• Decrease employee benefits and increase tax payments
• Decrease high school enrollment rates and increase drop-out rates
Work Cited
Gongloff, Mark. "45 Million Americans Still Stuck Below Poverty Line: Census." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 16 Sept. 2014. Web. 08 May 2016.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/16/poverty-household-income_n_5828974.html
Karinmoveon. "Raise the Minimum Wage to $15 Per Hour." YouTube. YouTube, 29 May 2014. Web. 10 May 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOqtl53V3JI>
NCSL. "State Minimum Wages | 2016 Minimum Wage by State." State Minimum Wages | 2016 Minimum Wage by State. NCSL.org, 14 Apr. 2016. Web. 07 May 2016.
http://www.ncsl.org/research/labor-and-employment/state-minimum-wage-chart.aspx
MaCurdy, Thomas. "How Effective Is The Minimum Wage At Supporting The Poor?." Journal Of Political Economy 123.2 (2015): 497-545. Business Source Elite. Web. 3May2016
http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=de5726d9-5625-4dcc-90d1-fd62289ae5d2%40sessionmgr107&vid=48&hid=128
Mincy, Ronald B. "Raising The Minim Wage: Effects On Family Poverty." Monthly Labor Review 113.7 (1990): 18. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 3 May
2016.http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=de5726d9-5625-4dcc-90d1-fd62289ae5d2%40sessionmgr107&vid=52&hid=109
Procon.org. "Minimum Wage - ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. Procon.org, 14 Apr. 2016. Web. 07 May 2016. <http://minimum-wage.procon.org/>.
Vorpe, Jonj. "Why Fight for $15? The Big Pros and Cons for Raising the Minimum Wage." Why Fight for $15? The Big Pros and Cons for Raising the Minimum Wage. Gokicker, 15 Apr. 2015.
Web. 07 May 2016. <http://gokicker.com/2015/04/15/why-fight-for-15-the-big-pros-and-cons-for-raising-the-minimum-wage/>
Wikipedia. "Robert Reich." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 10 May 2016. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Reich>