What are the arguments for minimum wage? Which do you find most persuasive?
Work. Something we all think that is for grown-ups only. But since the 1800's, kids have been working in large factories under dangerous conditions. Minimum Age and Minimum Wage is an article that describes the history of children working. The author, Joseph Berger, starts his article by going through time. He starts in the early 1900's and then moves on to modern day Labor Laws. In the article, there is a section which is labeled "Minimum Wage, Pros & Cons". This section is dedicated to some of the reasons why raising the minimum wage is good and why its bad. The section also includes information on child labor outside the United States. This helped me pick a side on the minimum wage issue. Before, I couldn't decide whether I wanted higher wages but now I know what I want. The article is not against higher minimum wage, Berger does a fantastic job giving reasons why the minimum wage should be raised. That is why I want higher minimum wages.
The author first starts reinforces his claim by saying, "Advocates of a higher minimum say it's too low to live on, especially if you're trying to support a family." The way the author described how minimum wage is too low for a family reminded me of how many people are without jobs, and how many people can't support their families. http://www.tradingeconomics.com/united-states/unemployment-rate (See this link to see current unemployment rate). The author also uses facts from Sally Greenberg, who is the executive director of the National Consumer League, to show the amount of children working across the globe. The author wrote that, "...there are 250 million children under age 16 working around the world... In Bangladesh, 17% of the children between the ages of 5 and 14 work for at least part of the day for the minimum wage of $37 a month." This quote makes me feel horrible. How can these kids work so hard but be paid so little? That is one of the reasons why the author's argument of raising minimum wage is stronger than the opponents argument of lowering minimum wage.
In the article Berger said," Opponents say a higher minimum causes companies, especially small businesses, to hire fewer people, making it harder for teens and others trying to get a start in the work world." This quote made me think about made me think about how much selfish people were. If the minimum is increased then companies will hire less. This shows how greedy business owners are. They don’t want to pay their hard working employees what they deserve. They want more money for themselves. This personally connects to me because when my family first came to America, my dad would get paid very little and work for long hours. This story connects with a previous quote that I mentioned earlier. "Advocates of a higher minimum say it's too low to live on, especially if you're trying to support a family." Throughout this article, I thought the author’s claim for higher minimum wage was stronger than his counter argument. The author uses quotes and statistics to support his claim. He also gave great reasons why the minimum wage should be hired. Because of how well he supported his claim, I was persuaded to believe in what the author believed. So the next time you complain about how low your salary is, remember that there are kids working in other countries for less than half of what you make.
The author first starts reinforces his claim by saying, "Advocates of a higher minimum say it's too low to live on, especially if you're trying to support a family." The way the author described how minimum wage is too low for a family reminded me of how many people are without jobs, and how many people can't support their families. http://www.tradingeconomics.com/united-states/unemployment-rate (See this link to see current unemployment rate). The author also uses facts from Sally Greenberg, who is the executive director of the National Consumer League, to show the amount of children working across the globe. The author wrote that, "...there are 250 million children under age 16 working around the world... In Bangladesh, 17% of the children between the ages of 5 and 14 work for at least part of the day for the minimum wage of $37 a month." This quote makes me feel horrible. How can these kids work so hard but be paid so little? That is one of the reasons why the author's argument of raising minimum wage is stronger than the opponents argument of lowering minimum wage.
In the article Berger said," Opponents say a higher minimum causes companies, especially small businesses, to hire fewer people, making it harder for teens and others trying to get a start in the work world." This quote made me think about made me think about how much selfish people were. If the minimum is increased then companies will hire less. This shows how greedy business owners are. They don’t want to pay their hard working employees what they deserve. They want more money for themselves. This personally connects to me because when my family first came to America, my dad would get paid very little and work for long hours. This story connects with a previous quote that I mentioned earlier. "Advocates of a higher minimum say it's too low to live on, especially if you're trying to support a family." Throughout this article, I thought the author’s claim for higher minimum wage was stronger than his counter argument. The author uses quotes and statistics to support his claim. He also gave great reasons why the minimum wage should be hired. Because of how well he supported his claim, I was persuaded to believe in what the author believed. So the next time you complain about how low your salary is, remember that there are kids working in other countries for less than half of what you make.
