
Why should we increase the minimum wage?
- Reduce employment by 1.4 million jobs
- Increase the federal deficit by $54 billion over 10 years
- Increase prices for goods and services
What are the cons of raising the minimum wage?
The minimum wage will also affect layoffs, price increases, competition will intensify, and minimum wage salaries are applied inconsistently. In conclusion, “some suggest that creating more jobs for people who need them rather than raising earnings for people who already have them is a better solution for reducing the national poverty rate.
What are the benefits of increasing the minimum wage?
- Giving raises to one-third of African Americans and one-quarter of Latinos (roughly $3,500 annual increase per minimum wage worker).
- Benefiting 51% of women between the ages of 25 and 54
- Providing financial assistance to essential workers (60% of the minimum wage workforce)
What are the effects of raising the minimum wage?
Raise the minimum wage. The study, which is published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, is the first to analyze the effects of states’ minimum wage increases on the rates of marriage and divorce among low-wage earners. “When policymakers think ...

How does the federal minimum wage increase?
How often does the federal minimum wage increase? The minimum wage does not increase automatically. Congress must pass a bill which the President signs into law in order for the minimum wage to go up.
What is the federal minimum wage quizlet?
The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour.
What are 3 key reasons why we should increase federal minimum wage?
Raising the federal minimum wage will also stimulate consumer spending, help businesses' bottom lines, and grow the economy. A modest increase would improve worker productivity, and reduce employee turnover and absenteeism. It would also boost the overall economy by generating increased consumer demand.
How does increasing minimum wage increase consumers?
Minimum wage increases stimulate the economy by increasing consumer spending without adding to state and federal budget deficits. Consumer spending drives 70 percent of the economy, and increasing demand is key for jumpstarting and maintaining production and hiring.
Who sets the federal minimum wage quizlet?
The Fair Labor Standard Act sets the minimum wage and the current minimum wage rate is $7.25 per hour.
What are some exceptions to the federal minimum wage quizlet?
Various minimum wage exceptions apply under specific circumstances to workers with disabilities, full time students, youth under age 20 in their first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment, tipped employees and student learners.
How does raising the minimum wage reduce poverty?
By boosting the income of low-wage workers with jobs, a higher minimum wage would lift some families' income above the poverty threshold and thereby reduce the number of people in poverty.
What are the pros and cons of increasing minimum wage?
The Bottom Line Raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour is a policy goal for many lawmakers. Increasing the minimum wage is expected to lift individuals out of poverty and improve work ethic, however, it also comes with many possible negative implications, such as inflation and a loss of jobs.
Does raising minimum wage cause inflation?
Position: Minimum Wage Does Not Increase Inflation Historically, minimum wage increases have had only a very weak association with inflationary pressures on prices in an economy.
Why would raising the minimum wage help the economy?
Raising the minimum wage to $15 in 2025 would lift up to 3.7 million—including an estimated 1.3 million children—out of poverty. Raising the minimum wage to $15 would help ensure that more low-wage workers are paid enough to cover basic living expenses, i.e., a wage providing a modest yet adequate standard of living.
What are the benefits of minimum wage?
While some critics of minimum wage argue that the law harms workers and interferes with business development, advocates point to several advantages, including the protection of workers, improving the economy and motivating employees to higher standards of performance.
Does increasing minimum wage increase productivity?
The new research shows that raising the minimum wage improves workers' productivity, which translates into businesses offering higher-quality service. Because many customers are willing to pay more when quality improves, a company can raise its prices without losing sales volume.
Why does a minimum wage exist quizlet?
Reduce earnings inequality by supporting incomes of relatively low paid workers, like low-skilled workers. What is the minimum wage? A minimum wage sets a floor on the wage rate that an employer can pay a worker.
What is minimum wage def?
A minimum wage is the lowest wage per hour that a worker may be paid, as mandated by federal law. It is a legally mandated price floor on hourly wages, below which nonexempt workers may not be offered a job or agree to work.
What percentage of American workers earn the minimum wage quizlet?
About 1% of American workers are actually paid the minimum wage.
What is the effect of a minimum wage in a low skill labor market quizlet?
A minimum wage in a low skill occupation will cause a shortage of labor.
What would happen if the minimum wage was raised?
As a result, some employers would employ fewer workers than they would have under a lower minimum wage. However, for certain workers or in certain circumstances, employment could increase.
How would increasing the minimum wage affect the number of people in poverty?
How would increasing the minimum wage affect the number of people in poverty? By boosting the income of low-wage workers with jobs, a higher minimum wage would lift some families’ income above the poverty threshold and thereby reduce the number of people in poverty. But low-wage workers who lost employment would see their earnings decrease, and in some cases their family income would fall below the poverty threshold. The first effect would tend to be larger than the second, so the number of people in poverty would generally fall.
How did CBO estimate effects on employment?
How did CBO estimate effects on employment? In CBO’s analysis, the size of the effects depends on the number of workers affected by the increase in the minimum wage, the changes in wages induced by the higher minimum, and the responsiveness of employment to those changes in wages. Effects would generally be greater if the minimum-wage change affected more workers, if it led to larger mandated increases for directly affected workers, if firms had more time to respond (for example, because the change was phased in over a longer period), and if the minimum wage was indexed to inflation or wage growth.
How did CBO estimate effects on the number of people in poverty?
How did CBO estimate effects on the number of people in poverty? CBO projected the distribution of poverty in future years using the same methods it used to project the distribution of family income, applying the same definitions of income and poverty thresholds that the Census Bureau uses to determine the official poverty rate. CBO projects that in 2025, the poverty threshold (in 2021 dollars) will be $21,260 for a family of three and $26,850 for a family of four.
When will the minimum wage be $15?
Raise the minimum wage to $ 15 by 2026 and gradually raise the tipped cash minimum to be the same as the regular minimum. Thereafter, index both wages to the median wage. Eliminate the subminimums for teenagers and disabled workers.
What does indexing mean for minimum wage?
Further Adjustments to the Minimum Wage: Indexing the minimum wage means automatically adjusting it after it reaches the target amount. Past increases in the federal minimum wage have not been indexed, so the value of those increases has been eroded by inflation. In this interactive tool, users can:
What would happen if low wage workers lost their jobs?
But low-wage workers who lost employment would see their earnings decrease, and in some cases their family income would fall below the poverty threshold. The first effect would tend to be larger than the second, so the number of people in poverty would generally fall.
What would happen if the minimum wage was raised?
According to economic analyst Ed Rensi, formerly an executive at McDonald’s, a higher minimum wage could eliminate some existing jobs and may also result in the closure of a substantial number of small businesses. 2
Why is raising the minimum wage bad?
Raising the minimum wage has many critics. First, economists argue that too high of a government-mandated minimum wage creates an artificial floor in the labor market , which can cause distortions and inefficiencies.
How does the cost of goods and services affect wage increase?
The overall increased cost of goods and services has a circular effect on the wage increase; eventually, as goods and services in the market overall increase, higher wages will be needed to compensate for the increased prices of consumer goods .
What is wage push inflation?
With regard to inflation, so-called wage push inflation is the result of a general rise in wages. According to this hypothesis, in order to maintain corporate profits after an increase in wages, employers must increase the prices they charge for the goods and services they provide.
How to maintain corporate profits after an increase in wages?
According to this hypothesis, in order to maintain corporate profits after an increase in wages, employers must increase the prices they charge for the goods and services they provide. The overall increased cost of goods and services has a circular effect on the wage increase; eventually, as goods and services in the market overall increase, ...
Does a minimum wage hike increase prices?
Based on their research, they also make the claim that a "small" minimum wage hike (between five and 15%) does not lead to higher prices. On the other hand, large minimum wage hikes have clear positive effects on output prices (which can ripple through to higher consumer prices). 3
Is wage push inflation solid?
While the arguments for wage-push inflation are appealing, the empirical evidence is not so solid. In fact, looking back at the history of minimum wage increases has only a very weak association with inflationary pressures on prices in an economy.
What is the minimum wage?
Minimum Wage. The federal minimum wage is the lowest hourly wage an employer can legally pay , with some exceptions. Nearly 1.6 million Americans, 1.9% of hourly workers, make the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.
Which states have minimum wage lower than the federal minimum wage?
If workers don’t come under the FLSA, they can be paid less. Georgia, Oklahoma and Wyoming have minimum wages lower than the federal wage. Georgia and Wyoming’s are both $5.15 an hour.
What is the minimum wage for a tip employee?
The federal minimum wage for tipped employees is $2.13 an hour. Tipped workers aren’t the same as workers who are exempt from the federal minimum. Tips, added to the lower hourly wage, must meet the federal minimum.
What is the minimum wage in Oklahoma?
If not, workers get $2 an hour.
How many states have minimum wage in 2021?
As of Jan. 1, 2021, 29 states and Washington, D.C. had their own minimum wage. Some of the states have complex structures for who gets paid what and how the wage increases annually, and 15 states have areas with different minimum wages. It’s best to check your state’s government website to find out how it works in your state.
How many hours do you have to work to get overtime?
The act also requires that workers who are paid by the hour get an overtime rate of 1.5 times the standard wage for more than 40 hours worked in a week and sets rules for child labor, equity and more.
Can a state make the minimum wage lower?
A state with its own law can make the wage lower, equal to or higher than the federal minimum wage. Federal minimum wage overrides state if the state wage is lower. It doesn’t if the state wage is higher. Hourly workers who come under Fair Labor Standard Act guidelines, which most hourly workers do, always get the higher wage.
