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Peter Dunst
Professor Fielding
WRTC 103
October 6, 2015
The Federal Minimum Wage: A Life of Poverty
As of July 24th, 2009 the federal minimum wage has been $7.25 that all
businesses across the United States must pay their workers for their labor. Many
issues have aroused with the federal minimum wage not being updated or
increased to reflect the current economy. Due to this, workers that rely on their
minimum wage jobs to support their families, live in poverty because the federal
minimum wage is too low. Having to work every day yet still live in poverty is not
something that an individual in America should have to endure. The rhetoric of both
the article published in the U.S Official News Journal, Washington: The Economic
Case for Raising the Minimum Wage, and Peter Dunsts companion PSA relies
heavily on ethos, pathos, and logos to depict the realities of families living off of
minimum wage jobs.
The article, Washington: The Economic Case for Raising the Minimum Wage,
discusses the feelings on increasing the federal minimum wage from inside the
White House. The reporter cites President Obama and refers to his Council of
Economic Advisors report on the legislature that increases the federal minimum
wage to $10.10. By the authors use of rhetorical appeals, the main goal of the
article is to convince the American voters and members of congress that raising the
federal minimum wage will lead to an to improvement in the standard of living for
those currently effected by the federal minimum wage, as well as cause a ripple
effect across the economy that would benefit people in all classes.

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To further press and persuade the reader to vote to increase the federal
minimum wage to $10.10, the author uses the rhetorical appeal that stood out the
most to the reader, ethos. President Obama is referenced a couple times throughout
the article on his stance regarding minimum wage, therefore he appeals to readers
as a credible source on the topic. Mr. Obama believes that "If you cook our troops'
meals or wash their dishes, you shouldn't have to live in poverty"(Washington: The
Economic Case for Raising the Minimum Wage P. 1). The public lobbying by
President Obama for the increase in federal minimum wage legislature is a focal
point in drawing the audiences attention to the article. This tactic by the author is
very smart, portraying themselves as an individual that understands the rhetoric
appeal of ethos and the impact it can have on drawing attention to an issue.
Appealing to their audience through another individuals fame and perspective is a
way to promote the article, raising attention to an issue that is goes much deeper
than what is at the surface. At the surface the issue looks like a small change in
wages but in reality that small change in wages results in an individual living in
poverty vs. an individual not living in poverty. It is someones life and family that sit
in the balance over a $2.85 change in federal minimum wage. In addition, the use of
two well respected sources shows that the writer can be trusted to report on
information with relevance to increasing minimum wage.
Therefore, due to the use of reliable sources, the author had many examples
of logos in the article. All of them are statistics that were drawn from the Council of
Economic Advisors report on the legislature regarding an increase in the federal
minimum wage. In the report that was embedded into the article, in paragraph 6, it
was found that 28 million workers would see a raise, including 19 million making
less than $10.10 and another 8 million with wages just above $10.10 who would

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benefit from the ripple effect(Washington: The Economic Case for Raising the
Minimum Wage P. 6). The facts are very encouraging especially for a reader who is
unsure about how they feel about an increase in minimum wage. They are also
important as they are indeed the truth and the same ones that all members of
congress who voted upon the legislation received before concluding their decisions.
Logos in this article in well shows how much those families that are struggling
underneath the poverty line would benefit from the effect of an increase in federal
minimum wage.
Seeing these statistics on paper, then hearing it out loud as they are
discussed, followed by witnessing this first hand at some point in their life or on
television, the author is attempting to appeal to the reader using pathos. Pathos is
an emotional response to something the writer put into the piece. When
experiencing those stats in any of those ways, it evokes an emotion in a human. For
instance, The minimum wage helps support family incomes, reducing inequality
and poverty--especially for female earners (Washington: The Economic Case for
Raising the Minimum Wage, P. 5). Reading that reminds the reader of how rough
life is for some individuals. The word poverty and inequality are supposed to evoke
images of hardship and discriminatory treatment between members of different
socio-economic classes. The goal is to evict emotions of anger, sadness, and
Figure 1.
Obamas Push to Increase Minimum Wage
In an effort supported by President Obama, a legislature has been put together and
proposed to congress to increase the minimum wage to $10.10.
disparity from the reader as the current minimum wage hardly supports a family let
alone one person to survive off of.

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Similarly to the verbal argument, the main claim of this Public Service
Announcement is to convince the voters and members of congress to increase the
federal minimum wage to $10.10 to allow individuals that work minimum wage jobs
as their full time employment, to make a yearly salary that is above the poverty
line. The PSA conveys the seriousness that needs to be taken into consideration
when thinking about the topic of minimum wage, as it is minimum wage workers
livelihoods that are in the balance of this legislature. Peter uses President Obama to
show the legitimacy of the ad and attract viewers, as he is one of the most
recognizable figures in the United States. With such a main figure as the center of
attention in the PSA, it makes the most sense to put two main quotes from the
verbal argument around President Obama, almost as if one came from a thought in
his brain and the other was said. It adds to the meaning of the PSA, not to mention
the use of arrows and italics to catch the viewers eye and draw attention to that
specific area of the ad too.

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In this creation, President Obama is the rhetorical appeal of ethos in the PSA,
as Peter attempts to show the credibility behind his argument by having Obama be
the focal point of the ad. He believes it will garner the ad more publicity considering
the strong feelings Mr. President retains regarding the increase in federal minimum
wage proposal. In analyzing the PSA, it became apparent the author is very onesided in his ad and research. He did not do any research other than read his verbal
argument article. Due to this lack of alternate viewpoints, Peters qualifications are
limited and holds minimal authority in the debate over the minimum wage rate as
he is not informed enough to compare both sides of the issue. Despite his lack for
the opposing view point research, the evidence used from the verbal article was
cited and presented on the PSA correctly. Furthermore, since two-thirds of the text
on the PSA are quotes, the tone and diction are difficult to determine as the word
choices are specific to the quotes. Peter did a fair job at creating a PSA that reflects
actual PSAs, even finding and adding in an organization to help sign a petition to
increase the federal minimum wage.
Statistics are included in the PSA to make everyone aware of the massive
effect one small, very possible change can do to the economy and workers as a
whole. The 28 million workers that would see a raise if the minimum wage was
raised to $10.10, is a shocking and key number in the fight to get the minimum
wage increased. This example of logos was strategically put in italics to draw the
viewers eyes towards that quote as there is something different about it than the
other two areas with text. All of the texts though seemed thoughtfully placed to go
through each rhetorical appeal following one to the other, each supporting the one
before it.

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"If you cook our troops' meals or wash their dishes, you shouldn't have to live
in poverty"(Washington: The Economic Case for Raising the Minimum Wage,
Barack Obama). Disgust, sadness, and anger are feelings that come to mind when
thinking about this last quote that are utilized by Peter to appeal with pathos to the
viewer. The image is very central using color schemes to have the brightest colors
on President Obama, catching the viewers eyes. What is noticed after time
analyzing the PSA, is there is a banner in the background that states Opportunity
for All, which connects to the overall message about equality for individuals in the
economy. Many viewers will be able to connect to this PSA as Peter did a good job
finding a common issue that everyone has a stake in, the increase in minimum
wage and the effect it holds on the economy.
Overall, when comparing the two pieces of work, they are very similar and
have one small difference, they are two alternate perspectives. They use the same
evidence, hook, and have the same claim. Only difference between the two is one is
a written piece of work, whereas the other one is of a picture origin. If I had to
choose the PSA is easier to understand and quicker to realize what is being
advertised and why. There are too many words and complicated ideas in the verbal
argument, people would stop reading because they would become bored as it is
majority a copy paste of a report. Therefore the PSA is a stronger argument because
despite it lacking the amount of evidence the verbal argument has, it makes up for
it in its simplicity and quick understanding.
Works Cited
"The Economic Case for Raising the Minimum Wage." States News Service. N.p., 14
Feb. 2014. Web. 4 Oct. 2015. <http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-

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Raise the Minimum Wage. Obama's Push to Increase Minimum Wage. Harrisonburg:
Peter Dunst, 2015. Print.
2014. Costco Store, Chicago. Chicago Tribune. Web. 4 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.trbimg.com/img-52ffecd4/turbine/ct-ct-biz-work-advice-minimumwage-jpg-20140208/2048/2048x1539>.