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Rance Seibold
TR 10:30
29 November 2016
Maximum Wage?
Seven dollars and twenty-five cents an hour. That is the federal minimum wage as of
July 24, 2009 (Min. Wage, par.1). According to The United States Office of Personnel
Management, there are on average 2,087 hours worked per year (par. 1). Computing those two
numbers produces $15,080 of taxable income. Common sense tells us that income is not very
high. Due to this, some want to increase the federal minimum wage while others do not agree.
With people making double and even triple hourly wages with high school or equivalent
The reason for this controversy is the fact that there are many people who have to try to
live off of minimum wage. Living off of that kind of money can be deemed difficult for families,
single parents, or even single people. Fifteen thousand dollars a year is not very much money.
Imagine trying to feed, clothe, and support a family full of children on that kind of money. There
On the other side, there is an educated argument on why the minimum wage should not
be increased. The loss of jobs is the largest area of concern. According to Jonathon M. Trugman,
raising the minimum wage to $15 dollars an hour would cause nearly one million people to lose
If increasing the minimum wage creates the fear of many Americans losing their jobs, it
is the governments job to find ways to combat this problem. The fact is that minimum wage is
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very low and hard to live on for anyone. For example, the job I held this summer paid fifteen
dollars an hour and that would have sustained myself yearly. However, if I were supporting a
family on those wages money would probably be scarce. If wages of more than double the
minimum wage could cause people to struggle to get by in todays world, why not increase the
amount? With the cost of living increasing year after year, why does the income of workers stay
the same?
These are questions that fuel the argument for the increase on minimum wage. The
enacting of an increase on the minimum wage is not something that will happen overnight. It has
to be done by Congress which we know is a long and drawn out process. Even if it does get to
Congress, there will still be many who oppose the bill. Citizens need to become advocates to
gain support for this issue and better the lives of many in this country.
To become an advocate, people should educate themselves on the pros and cons of an
increase in federal minimum wage. Advocates should talk to Congressmen and women to gain a
better understanding of the effect of a change. Just as with any issue in a democracy, the citizens
However, I am in support of an increase on the federal minimum wage. Doing what I can as a
college student will contain talking to economics professors, and discussing the issue with my
fellow students to advocate. Many people know that there are others struggling to get by in
todays society. But many do not know what they can do to help. It can be as simple as
In all, increasing the federal minimum wage would benefit many people across this
nation. Advocating for the increase is a must if people want change. Too many people have
struggled to get by on our current minimum wage and change needs to take place.
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Works Cited
Pay & Leave. Pay & Leave. United States Office of Personal Management,
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-administration/fact-
sheets/computing-hourly-rates-of-pay-using-the-2087-hour-divisor/ . Accessed
Trugman, Jonathon M. Raising minimum wage would cost a million people their jobs. New