Title of the article:Minimum Wage by State: Base Pay Rising in Over Half of US
States in 2023
Source of the article:CNET, https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/minimum-wageby-state-2023/ (accessed 9 October 2023)
Date the article was published:6 January 2023
Word account of the commentary:370
Unit of the sytllabus to which the article relates:Microeconomics
Key concept being used:Sustainability
Article
On Jan 1, 2023, 23 states in US rised up the minimum wage in the state. The
government wants to rise the minimum wage , for example the president Joe Biden
issued an executive order instituting a $15 minimum wage for federal contractors in
2021(Avery). However, some organizations argue that the minimum wage should not
be risen at all. According to the US Chamber of Commerce, “lower-paying entrylevel jobs are needed to start a worker’s ascent up the career ladder”(Avery).
Take the minimum wage of the labour market in Nebraska as an example.
The minimum wage in Nebraska increased from $9 to $10.50 in 2023. From the
demand-supply graph, as the minimum wage of labour increased, the quantity
demanded for labour decrease from Qt to Qd, and quantity supplied increase from Qt
to Qs. There is a supply surplus in the market which means many people who wants
getting a job will still be unemployed and because the cost of labour increased, some
firms may choose to fire some employees and the unemployment rate in the economy
may increase in the near future. There is also a potential consequence that if the
minimum wage is too high, workers are satisfied with the current wage and it can
prevent them from purchasing higher-wage jobs to continue on their career path. The
productivity of labour can decrease if they do not have enough motive to work.
On the other hand, since the minimun wage stopped keeping pace with inflation in
the late 1960s in US(Avery), so nowadays rising the minimum wage can ensure the
basic needs of poor people. In an April 2021 Pew Research center poll, about 62%
people support rising the minimum wage to $15 an hour(Avery)
Source:CNET, https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/minimum-wage-by-state2023/, Dan Avery, Jan. 6, 2023, accessed Oct. 9, 2023