The Cost Of The Minimum Wage - 2450 Words

With one of the highest standards of living and one of the most stagnant minimum wage rates in the United States, Hawaii is not always the paradise that many consider it to be. Between 2007 and 2014—during which America went through one of its biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression, the minimum wage rate remained at $7.25. According to economic professor Amy Glasmeier’s Living Wage Calculator, a person with a spouse and two children would have needed to make $28.95 to subsist in the county of Honolulu, $21.70 more than the $7.25 minimum wage (Lam, 2015). As a result, in 2014, Governor Neil Abercrombie approved a proposal to gradually raise the minimum wage to $10.10 by 2018. He did this in hopes that raising the minimum wage would help workers meet the rising cost of living in Hawaii. 2015 saw its first wage increase to $7.75, and 2016 saw another increase to $8.50. While many minimum wage workers applauded Abercrombie’s decision to raise the m inimum wage, his approval has also been met with criticism, reflecting the current nationwide debate over raising the minimum wage. The debate over a minimum wage can be traced back to the beginning of economic thought. The origin of two types of economic theories, the labor theory of value (which supports a minimum wage increase) and the utility theory of value (which opposes a minimum wage increase), came from Adam Smith, the first economist to develop a consistent view of capitalism (Hunt, 40). Smith mainlyShow MoreRelatedThe Cost Of Minimum Wage Essay984 Words   |  4 Pagesintroduced minimum wage as a part of Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. The purpose of minimum wage were to prevent poverty and to stimulate the economy by increasing consumer’s purchasing power. However, in 2015, 78.2 million workers were paid hourly, representing 58.5% of all workers in the United States. Among those people, 870,000 workers earned the minimum wage, $7.25 per hour and 1.7 million w orkers earned below the minimum. In total, 3.3% of workers earned exactly or below the minimum wage. For yearsRead MoreMinimum Wage And The Cost Of Living Essay1518 Words   |  7 Pagescomplex of living in the United States which is supposed to be the land of the free. The cost of living now these days have put those who only make minimum wage in poverty stricken situations, which now they have no choice but to depend on the government to live. We either have to lower the cost of living so that people can live a somewhat sustainable life, or raise the minimum wage so that we can afford the cost of living that is provided to us. Somethings got to give, it s obvious that we cannotRead MoreThe High Cost Of Minimum Wage929 Words   |  4 PagesThe high cost of minimum wage For a while now many have been demanding minimum wage be brought up to 15 dollars. Strikes and protests for it are nothing new. Who wouldn t want to get paid more? This idea seems promising, but it may turn into a deadly trap ready to paralyze our economy. Minimum wage should not be raised to 15 dollars for at least several years because it will ruin our economy. It would be very costly, unfair and counterproductive if that were to happen. Raising minimum wage to 15Read MoreShould The Minimum Wage Be An Investment Or A Cost?1203 Words   |  5 Pagesand not the companies. It has been agreed upon that in Ontario â€Å"The general minimum wage rises to $11.25 an hour, from $11† (Herhalt, 2015, para.2). Obviously there is a decision to be made of how many new employees to be hired. To companies this is the price to do business in the future while employees view this as their monetary income. Alas the conundrum appears, do companies view minimum wage as an investment or a cost to the organization. There are both positive and negative standpoints to thisRead MoreThe Cost Of Idealism : Setting The Appropriate Minimum Wage1618 Words   |  7 Pages The Cost of Idealism: Setting the Appropriate Minimum Wage Blake Kaiser-Lack Williams Economics 19 November 2015 In Seattle this past August, Ritu Shah Burnham and his 11 co-workers at a small ZPizza lost their jobs and business to one seemingly beneficial culprit: the minimum wage. After huge wage hikes in cities like Seattle, San Francisco, and Oakland, small businesses similar to Burnham’s have been following suit due to increased labor costs that eradicate businesses’Read MoreIncrease In Ontarios Cost of Living Tied to Minimum Wage Increase808 Words   |  4 PagesResearch Question. Should increases to Ontario’s minimum wage be tied to the cost of living? Minimum wage is something that maintains the stability of a states economy. Minimum wage is regulated by the provincial government where the most minor of changes creates an exponential ripple effect through both local and international economies. A minimum wage is the wage that is able to provide not only for bare physical needs but also for preservation of efficiency of workers plus some measure of educationRead MoreDetermining The Cost Per Hour Difference Between A Minimum Wage1183 Words   |  5 Pagesthis report is to determine the cost per hour difference between a minimum wage employee working 40 hours per week for 52 weeks located in Cornwall, Ontario and Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. The result of this report will be used for the establishment of a new distribution centre. All the elements of employee’s salary in the city of Cornwall and Pittsburgh will be covered in this report. The report will make the use of exchange rate for comparing the difference in wages in two c ountries now and after theRead MoreRaising the Minimum Wage: A Counter-Intuitive Solution Essay753 Words   |  4 PagesWhile some believe that raising the minimum wage will resolve poverty issues and lack of pay with the signing of legislation, the raising of the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour (as advocated by President Obama and the Democrats) would cause the poverty issue to be worse than it already is; inflation would occur, employees would be laid off, and minimum wage employees would lose welfare benefits, thus offsetting the wage increase. The Government should consider the effects on the American economy asRead MoreA Brief Note On Raising The Minimum Wage1503 Words   |  7 PagesWage War Alternatives to Raising the Minimum Wage Minimum wage is a topic of considerable controversy and a significant source of economic stratification. Essentially, the minimum wage policy is what defines the baseline income of â€Å"low level† or â€Å"starting positions.† Here in the U.S. most individuals will at some point in their life hold a minimum wage position. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 58.5% of U.S. citizens were paid at hourly rates, and about 2.6 million workersRead MoreThe Minimum Wage Policy During The United States1714 Words   |  7 Pagesincrease the federal minimum wage. Headlines throughout the country highlight recent minimum wage policy changes in major cities such as Los Angeles and Seattle. Last month, Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York announced an approved minimum wage increase to $15 an hour for all fast food workers in the state (McGeehan). Even the website for the White House has a separate page, â€Å"Raise the Wage,† advocating for Congress to increa se the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour (Raise the Wage). The most commonly