Assignment: Need to use the professor feedback to edit the essay attached. Professor Feedback: 1. You missed some very specific directions for this paper. It is argumentative paper with some researc

Kayla Pamphile

Professor Sanders

ENC 1101

26 November 2023

Increasing the Minimum Wage to $15 Hourly

Introduction

The argument to increase the minimum age in the US is a controversial issue associated with better livelihood and higher sources of income. It will eliminate income inequality and raise living standards, especially for low-wage employees. The increase will increase job losses since companies must reduce recurrent expenditures by cutting some jobs. This paper will include an evaluation of the two sides of the arguments against and for increasing the minimum wage to $15. Potential advantages and disadvantages of the move will be analyzed to make critical decisions regarding the issue.

The arguments for increasing.

Increasing the minimum wage is popular in the United States due to the socio-political and economic arguments. Income inequality will be reduced by the increase; people in lower income groups cannot afford the high cost of living today. Since 2022 food, gas, and housing costs have increased prices. People earning below $15 cannot sustain a healthy lifestyle for their families. (Zachary, 2021). Raising the minimum wage will positively affect their lives, promoting comfortable and viable living conditions. The income difference between poor and the wealthy people has widened due to the income differences.

The United States government and companies will benefit from the minimum wage. As employees earn more, their expenditure will increase. Higher wages will increase the demand for goods and thus increasing profits and revenue for government and companies. Such companies will hire more employees while stimulating economic growth from the government's perspective. Previous increases in the minimum wage had a positive trajectory in economic performance and company growth. Although companies are against the increase, they will receive a financial advantage from the process, creating a win-win scenario.

Employees in the lower income bracket are exposed to poor living conditions marked by an inability to afford quality food, decent housing and healthcare insurance premiums. Such people must depend on the government's help to make ends meet. (Zachary, 2021). An increased minimum wage will ensure everyone can afford to meet their needs, and reliance on social welfare will be reduced. Increasing the minimum wage means a self-sufficient workplace and people depending less on public help.

Employees' emotional and mental health will increase due to increased minimum wage. Underpaid workers are forced to look for additional jobs and work long hours to meet their needs. Increasing the minimum wage will increase higher job satisfaction and reduced financial strain. (Jacobson, 2016). Employees' productivity will increase due to the financial security provided by the organization. However, paid employees are less motivated and disengaged from their workplace.

Businesses will benefit from the new minimum wage; for example, underpaid workers have high turnover rates as they look for better-paying employees. The costs of replacing workers are high, considering training and hiring costs and downtime when attempting to fill the vacant position. People are more likely to stay in jobs where they feel well compensated for the job delivered. With increased retention rates, the company becomes more efficient and stable. Motivated employees are likely to increase customer satisfaction due to positivity in the workplace.

The wage gap between people with low incomes and the healthy has been attributed to racial and gender factors. For example, women and people of color receive relatively lower salaries despite having similar qualifications. The Civil Rights Act prevents employee discrimination based on gender, race, ethnicity, etc. Increasing the minimum wage will be consistent with the civil rights that ensure equal opportunity availability in the workplace. Discriminated employees are likely to be disengaged from their workplace, thus reducing motivation.

Increasing the minimum wage will encourage employees to improve their skills and get additional education, which creates a mutual benefit. With financial rewards, people can afford to get higher education while the company will benefit from the efficiency and productivity of a better-skilled worker. Well-paid workers are likely to seek better and more competitive skills, which promotes the competitiveness of companies in dynamic industries. Currently, companies are increasing incentives for their workers to further their studies and increase quality delivery in the organization.

The counterarguments

The opponents of increasing the minimum wage stress that jobs will be lost in smaller companies. Such organizations have low-profit margins are struggling to meet customers' demands. Increasing labor costs means such companies will have to cut their employees or reduce working hours. The profit margins of small companies are lower since their production capacity is less and there are fewer customers. Increasing the minimum wage will translate to business closure, with more detrimental economic impacts.

Employers may resort to using automation while responding to high minimum wage. Although installing technology and automation in the company is less expensive, it has lower long-term costs, which is advantageous to the company. Investors will be more inclined to invest in automation such that machines will handle jobs that humans previously performed. With rapid technological changes, more companies like Apple and Amazon are using computers to complete tasks previously completed by people. It has reduced employment and lowered the workplace composition.

Inflation may increase with increased minimum wage; when costs of production increase, companies pass the cost to customers. Inflation occurs when the costs of acquiring goods and services increase. (Ferdman, 2021). With an increased minimum wage, companies will increase consumer prices to meet labor costs. This will reduce the purchasing power and lower profitability and revenues the economy collects. Evaluating the impacts of increasing the minimum wage will help understand such impacts.

The entry-level employees will be unable to find new jobs since companies will struggle to keep the current workforce as the minimum wage will increase. People with no experience or skills will be unable to secure jobs, which will increase the unemployment levels. Small companies will be less competitive with an increased minimum wage. Large organizations have the resources to balance between high labor costs and prices of the overall product. However, smaller companies are limited in profitability perspectives; increasing labor costs will make them uncompetitive since their prices will be higher.

Conclusion

The argument of whether to increase the minimum wage or not is a controversial issue since there are two sides with equal weights. The supporters argue that it will help ensure economic growth, support low-income employees, and address inequality. In contrast, opponents argue that it will increase inflation and make small companies uncompetitive.

References

Ferdman, Roberto A. "What Raising the Minimum Wage to $15 Would Actually Mean in Every State." Washington Post, 25 Nov. 2021, www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/08/03/map-how-much-a-15-minimum-wage-would-actually-be-worth-around-the-u-s/?=undefined.

Zachary, Wolf B. "Everything you need to know about the debate over the $15 minimum wage." Edition, February 25, 2021. https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/22/politics/minimum-wage-15-dollar-debate-explainer/index.html

Jacobson, Louis. “Fact-checking a $15 minimum wage.” May 9, 2016. https://www.politifact.com/article/2016/may/09/fact-checking-minimum-wage-debate/