Minimum Wage

Suny Fredonia

Should the Minimum Wage be Raised?

Lauren Cummings

Composition 100

Professor. Mineeva-Braun

November 18, 2013

Talk about raising the minimum wage has gone on since the Federal Minimum Wage was introduced in 1938. (History) Raising the minimum wage has been a controversial issue for many people because for most people living off minimum wage it is either not enough or is barely enough to get through the week, let alone a month or even a year. When it comes to raising the minimum wage, I think that it should be done. I think that raising the minimum wage will have a positive impact on our nation in being able to recover from the negative impacts from the repression.

The current minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. If you were to work five days a week, eight hours a day, forty hours a week, you would make $290 (before taxes) per week and $1160 (before taxes) per month and only $13,920 (before taxes) each fiscal year. A fiscal year is a 12month period for with an organization plans to use of funds (fiscal year). This following will include the issues of pros and cons of raising the minimum wage, debates about raising the wage and my opinion regarding whether the minimum wage should be raised or left alone.

Since the Federal Minimum Wage was introduced by the way of the Fair Labor Standard Act in 1938, the average cost of living has increased drastically. In 1938, average minimum wage was $0.25 per hour, which is equivalent to $4.00 per hour in 2012. (“History”) During that time period, the amount was more than enough to financially be able to support a family. Now, working a $7.25 per hour job doesn’t give enough wiggle room when it comes to paying the bills, paying for your rent or mortgage, and other weekly or monthly expenses such as food, gas, utilities and anything else that you may happen to need. For example, if a single minimum wage worker was living in Atlanta Georgia in a one-bedroom apartment, the average cost of the apartment is...