Pros And Cons Of Raising The Minimum Wage

Why You Should Raise the Minimum Wage “66% of US workers earning less than $10 an hour report that they "just meet" or "don't even have enough to meet" their basic living expenses”("Minimum Wage - ProCon.org."). Many people agree that not paying people enough money to survive on is a terrible tragedy that needs to be fixed, despite those who disagree with it. The fact that the minimum wage allows some to pay people not enough to live on is something that can be fixed, and those who doubt that the minimum wage is insufficient will see that raising the minimum wage will decrease homelessness, jumpstart the economy, and improve quality of life. First of all, it will decrease homelessness. To buy a house in this day and age, you need more than …show more content…
To start off, the minimum wage in the ‘80s and ‘60s was worth more than it is now. “ ...the federal minimum wage was only $3.35 per hour in 1981 and is currently $7.25 per hour in real dollars, when adjusted for inflation, the current federal minimum wage would need to be more than $8 per hour to equal its buying power of the early 1980s ...nearly $11 per hour to equal its buying power of the late 1960s.” ("Minimum Wage Mythbusters."). As well as that, according to the GDP(the Gross Domestic Product), which is often a good indicator of the size of our economy, our minimum wage should be about $12 an hour. “The Economist estimates that the minimum wage should be about $12 an hour in the U.S based on our GDP.” (Komlos). Furthermore, raising the minimum wage would create jobs. “The Economic Policy Institute stated that a minimum wage increase from the current rate of $7.25 an hour to $10.10 would...create about 85,000 new jobs over a three-year phase-in period.” ("Minimum Wage - ProCon.org."). Some may argue that raising the minimum wage would cause small businesses to lay off workers. However, this is not true. The minimum wage has been adjusted many times over the years, and business owners have adjusted

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Pros And Cons Of Raising Minimum Wage