English

Leung  1  

Ho Yuen Leung

Dr. Nivens

ENGL 2113-X10

13 October 2016

Effect of Increasing Minimum Wage (W3)

Over a long time, there has been a debate on whether to increase the minimum wage or

not. Increasing the minimum wage may be beneficial to the employees but it comes at a cost.

Businesses will respond in ways which will make businesses operate profitably. The option of

fighting poverty by increasing the minimum wage to $15 is a completely useless method of

fighting poverty because it leads to catastrophic effects on the economy and unplanned effects on

the poor, less-skilled, and young workers. These strategies will definitely hurt the economy and

the people’s way of life. Raising minimum wage is not good because it increases the level of

unemployment and raises the cost of living.

Raising the minimum wage will increase the level of unemployment. It goes without say

that increasing the minimum wage to $15 will compel businesses to dismiss good millions of

employees, something that would raise the already alarming unemployment levels (Addison,

Blackburn and Cotti, 2013). If the wages are increased, the production costs will definitely

increase meaning the prices will be higher. High prices will reduce the quantity of goods and

services demanded hence forcing companies to retrench workers and reduce the hiring levels.

From demand and supply, increasing the minimum cost of labor will lower the aggregate

demand for labor causing employment level to skyrocket (Clemmitt, 2016). This will hurt the

chances of young and less educated workers. Poor people will become poorer. Customers may

Melissa Nivens� 10/23/16 3:37 PM

Melissa Nivens� 10/23/16 3:39 PM

Comment: Remember  to  join  2   independent  clauses  with  with  both  a  comma   and  a  conjuction  

Comment: Unemployement?  

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not be willing to pay more just because a company wants to increase the pay for their employees.

If the goal of increasing the minimum wage to $15 is to reduce poverty, then we are left asking

why it should hurt the very same poor people. It is the poor people who stand to lose jobs as a

result of retrenchment. The poor will be the ones who will be hit heavily by the effects of

inflation and increase in the cost of living standards. Raising the minimum wage for entry level

workers will make businesses to lay off workers aggravating the problem of unemployment.

Businesses will consider the use of robots in place of men. This is good for the robotics

companies but not a good idea when a state is trying to fight poverty.  

Raising the minimum wage will create more disposable income and, thus, increase the

cost of living. As cited earlier, increasing the minimum wage would increase the cost of

production and, hence, the price of commodities. This inflation would serve to increase the cost

of living (Schmitt, 2013). For instance, raising the minimum wage to $15 would raise the cost of

housing because landlords believe tenants have more disposable income and, hence, are willing

to pay more (The Sovereign Investor, 2014). Consequently, increasing the minimum wage would

increase the tax obligations and reduce employee benefits. If the minimum wage is increased,

then welfare spending also increases because the products price will increase. When the

minimum wage is less than $10, an individual is eligible to enroll in Medicaid and pay less for

health care. Conversely, when the minimum wage increases beyond $10, the individual is no

longer eligible. What this means is that a good number of citizens will be removed from the

Medicaid programs because their income will over to apply the Medicaid programs, and will end

up paying more out of pocket for health care. The price of commodities depends on cost of

production, labor, and infrastructural costs. In addition, if the minimum wage in increased, the

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poor will be forced to pay more for goods, services, and facilities such as housing, making life

unbearable.

In conclusion, we can say that increasing the minimum wage is not a good idea. As cited

above, it is a move which would cost a large number of employees their jobs and make it hard

for young employees and less-skilled workers to source employment. Most employers would not

accept to pay employees more than the value of products they produce, and the only option

would be to lay off workers. Increasing the minimum wage would lead to more disposable

income and hence inflation will set in, increasing the cost of living. In a nut shell, increasing the

minimum wage would do more harm than good. We need to turn to other options of reducing

poverty. It is a bad idea to focus on minimum wage laws. It would be more effective if the

government considered of wealth distribution. The government should use its power to make

sure that all citizens get sufficient and equitable share of the wealth created by free markets. If

this does not work, then the government should allow the free market to determine resource

allocation, social surplus, and hence determine the best wage bill. It is thus prudent to say that

increasing minimum wage does not help fight poverty in any way, but only serves to add extra

financial pressure to the vulnerable low paid workers.

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References

Addison, J. T., Blackburn, M. L., & Cotti, C. D. (2013). Minimum wage increases in a

recessionary environment. Labour Economics, 23, 30-39.

Clemmitt, M. (2016). Issue: Minimum Wage Minimum Wage. Retrieved from

file:///C:/Users/hp/Downloads/minimum-wage.pdf

Schmitt, J. (2013). Why does the minimum wage have no discernible effect on

employment? Center for Economic and Policy Research, 22, 1-28.

The Sovereign Investor. (2014). Raise the Minimum Wage, Raise the Cost of Living. Retrieved

from: http://thesovereigninvestor.com/us-economy/raise-minimum-wage-raise-cost-

living/  

Essay  Grading  Guidelines      

Grading  Criteria  for  Essay  Assignments   Assignment  

Possible  Points   Earned   Points  

  W2   W3   W4   W5     Plagiarism  and  the  use  of  quotations   All  text  copied  from  another  source  must  be  placed  in  quotation  marks  and  correctly   cited  and  referenced.  If  you  copy  text  without  putting  that  text  in  quotation  marks,  you   will  receive  a  zero  for  the  essay.    If  this  happens  twice  in  the  course,  you  will  receive  an   F  for  the  course.  If  you  submit  an  essay  that  previously  was  submitted  by  another   student,  you  will  receive  an  F  for  the  course.  

         

Formatting   Document  has  the  following:   • header:  last  name  and  page  number,  aligned  to  right   • first  page  identifying  information:  your  full  name,  my  name,  class/section,  date   • title  that  reflects  the  topic  and  your  thesis   • file  name:  last  name  followed  by  assignment  #  (e.g.,  Smith  W2)   • file  saved  as  Word  Document  

1   1  

.5  

.5   .5   -­‐    

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Introductory  paragraph   The  first  paragraph  in  the  essay  introduces  the  reader  to  the  essay  topic  and  is  at  least   7-­‐  10  sentences  in  length.  At  the  end  of  the  introductory  paragraph,  the  thesis  is  stated   and  underlined.  (Do  not  start  the  introductory  paragraph  with  your  thesis.)  The  thesis   takes  a  clear  stand  on  the  assigned  topic.  The  amount  of  quoted  text  in  the  paragraph   does  not  exceed  20%  of  the  text.  

n/a   2   1.8  

2   2    

Two  body  paragraphs   Each  body  paragraph  begins  with  an  underlined  topic  sentence.  Each  topic  sentence  is  a   clear  reason  in  support  of  the  thesis  that  you  underlined  in  the  introductory  paragraph.   (Thesis  and  topic  sentences  are  not  the  same.)  Each  topic  sentence  is  followed  by  a   paragraph  that  is  at  least  7-­‐10  sentences  in  length.  The  paragraph  includes  explanations,   examples,  paraphrases,  and  quotes  from  your  readings  that  support  the  reason   underlined  as  the  topic  sentence.  At  least  1  reputable  source  is  cited  in  each  body   paragraph  (i.e.,  you  do  not  only  use  personal  experience  or  knowledge).  The  amount  of   quoted  text  in  any  paragraph  does  not  exceed  20%  of  the  text.  The  body  paragraphs   offer  a  thorough  analysis  of  the  issue.  The  body  paragraphs  end  with  a  tie  back,  or   reference,  to  the  topic  sentence  of  the  paragraph  and/or  the  thesis.  

4   3.6  

5   4.8  

6   4    

Concluding  paragraph   The  final  paragraph  of  your  essay  wraps  up—or  brings  to  a  close—the  essay  and  your   argument.  No  new  reasons  are  introduced  or  developed  in  the  conclusion.  The   concluding  paragraph  is  at  least  5-­‐7  sentences  in  length.  The  amount  of  quoted  text  in   the  paragraph  does  not  exceed  20%  of  the  text.    

n/a   1   .6  

1   1    

Sentences   The  essay  uses  complete  sentences  that  are  organized  into  standard  patterns.  

2   1.8  

1   .8  

1   1    

Mechanics   The  essay  demonstrates  adherence  to  Standard  Written  American  English.  

2   1.4  

1   .8  

1   1    

References   A  minimum  of  2  authoritative,  credible  online  sources  are  used  to  support  your   argument,  at  least  1  source  in  each  body  paragraph.  Each  quote  is  introduced  in  the   text:  you  let  the  reader  know  in  advance  whom  you  are  quoting  and  the  context  of  the   source.  All  sources  are  correctly  cited  in  the  text  using  parenthetical  citations  where   needed,  and  each  source  is  included  in  a  Works  Cited  or  Reference  section  at  the  end  of   the  document,  following  either  MLA  or  APA  style  guidelines  (see  course  textbook).   Sources  are  not  cited  in  the  paper  with  an  Internet  addresses  (URLs),  nor  is  a  URL  used   as  the  only  reference  information  at  the  end  of  the  document.  

1   1  

1.5   1.5  

1.5   1    

Total   You  offer  an  alternate  solution  in  the  conclusion.  Sometimes  that  is  a  good   strategy.  For  the  assignments  in  this  class,  be  careful  not  to  introduce  new  ideas  in  

the  conclusion  that  you  don’t  have  time/space  to  fully  develop.  

10   8.8  

12   10.8  

13   10