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Side Positive Negative

Persuasive - Raises the standard of living - States can individually


Speech Talking for the working poor increase their minimum wage
Points - Could possibly lower taxes if they see fit (ex. Higher cost
for other Americans if this of living?)
results in less spending on - Slower hiring and possibly
government programs for less jobs
the poor - Prices would increase to
- As seen with the federal compensate for higher labor
minimum wage increase in costs, effectively cancelling
1996, it led to a significant everything out
increase of employment of - Could result in an increased
teenagers (Journal of Labor high school dropout rate
Economics) - Raises incentive for
- Can reduce employee companies to outsource labor
turnover, resulting in lower from other countries where it
recruitment and training may be cheaper
costs (Committee on - Minimum Wage would
Education & the Workforce surpass the price of living
Democrats) - Workers would not be
- Many major corporations motivated to pursue a higher
across the nation are raising education when they sustain
their minimum wage their lifestyle on the minimum
- Target plans to wage
increase their - 29 states in the US has a
minimum wage from higher minimum wage
11 dollars an hour to - A minimum wage increase
15 by 2020 impacts mostly younger
(Corporate Target people who do not need to
website) sustain a high-priced lifestyle
- Economists have found that - They are either
raising the minimum wage students or living with
has no significant negative their parents
impact on job - If the minimum wage
availability/employment increases, the price of living
(CEPR, Feb 2013) will increase as well causing
- Can initially increase more problems for the
employee productivity and homeless and unemployed
customer service, which is a making it harder for citizens
major plus for employers to “dig out of a hole”
despite the higher cost of -
labor
- When you look at the
history of increasing the
minimum wage we have not
gone ten years without
increasing the minimum
wage
- Can help relieve a financial
burden for paying for
college
- Working on-campus pays at
least minimum wage-
college students are
benefitting too
- Average student debt in
2016 was $37,172.80
- Working 10 hours a week
with a 15 dollar minimum
wage- 7,800 a year, over the
course of four years that is
31,200- this minimum wage
could diminish student debt
- Incremental increase in
hourly pay- not all at once
- Fair Labor Standards Act
establishes the Federal
minimum wage

Potential - What about the impact this - Do you know roughly how
Questions from /would have on job many minimum wage workers
other side availability? It would are young students as you
probably encourage them to mentioned in your
hire less workers, since the constructive argument?
cost of labor is higher- -
leading to fewer available
jobs.
- Could this reduce the value
of a dollar/cause inflation in
the economy?
-
Persuasive Essay Part Thingy
Positive-

● Hook: Rosalea Phillips is a 42 year old mom from West Virginia who makes $8.75 was a
home care provider. She barely makes enough at this rate to pay for her bills. She said “I
get food stamps to help with food. I usually have to write a check for gas just before my
next paycheck. If the minimum wage were raised, I could afford to keep up with my bills
and buy food without assistance. We need help. Living with minimal amounts of income
and working ourselves to death is not the way.”
● Intro: In the United States of America, the Federal Labor Standards Act under the
Department of Labor has established a federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. This
means that a worker must be paid at least $7.25 per hour, but this price can be increased
by each state or corporation. Currently, 29 out of the 50 states in the US have established
a minimum wage rate higher than $7.25. Over half of the states in our nation has
recognized that the minimum wage is outdated and needs to be adjusted at the federal
level.
● Body: Many corporations across the nation are raising their minimum wages. One of the
biggest corporations in the nation Target, has announced on their corporate website that
they have plans to increase their minimum wage from 11 dollars an hour to 15 dollars an
hour by 2020. They already have a wage rate which is $3.75 higher than the national rate,
and knows it is not enough. By increasing the wage rate, corporations can expect to see
an increase in employee productivity and customer service, which will improve a
company's standing with the public. Furthermore, an increased minimum wage will not
impact the job market. Economists have found that raising the minimum wage has no
significant negative impact on job availability/employment, according to studies shown
by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, meaning that the job market will not
become more competitive due to an increase in pay. There should be no concerns with
raising minimum wages because overall it provides more financial stability for those who
work minimum wage jobs, more employee productivity, and overall is beneficial to
American citizens.
● Body 2: One major concern with raising the minimum wage is how the high school
dropout rate will potentially increase due to an unproportionate lower price of living with
a higher minimum wage. As can be seen throughout the United States economic history,
there is a direct relationship between the price of living and minimum wage. For instance,
according to the Department of Labor and US Census, the minimum wage in 1975 was
2.10 and the average price of a new home was $39,700. In 2009, the minimum was
established at the current price of $7.25, and the average price of a new home was
$216,600. The minimum wage rate was increasing as the price of buying a home
increased and this can be seen with a majority of other products’ pricing over the years.
According to the US Energy and Information Administration, in 2009, gas costed $2.47 a
gallon and in 2017 costed $2.65 a gallon. The price of living in the United States is still
increasing- if we do not take soon action and adjust the minimum wage, our citizens and
economy will suffer due to an unproportional rate with a higher standard of living. This
beneficial boost in income will help Americans sustain a better lifestyle and can assist in
student debt.
● Body 3: The majority of college students have at least one thing in common that is
student debt. The United States is currently in trillions of dollars of debt due to student
loans. The average college graduate in 2017, graduated with roughly $37,200 dollars of
debt. If the minimum wage was increased, this debt average would be lowered. Through
work study programs, jobs on or off of campus, a student would have the opportunity to
come out of school with a significantly lower amount of debt. Working 10 hours a week
(less than two hours a day) with a 15 dollar minimum wage equates to 7,800 a year, over
the course of four years that is 31,200- this minimum wage could help diminish student
debt while students are in college and will help with those already understanding the
struggles of living with student debt.
● According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, within the United States, we have roughly
80.4 million minimum wage workers. When many think of people with minimum wage
jobs, they think of young, high school to college aged students, but in reality Only ⅕
(16.08 million) of minimum wage workers are 25 years old or younger. There are more
people like Rosalea who rely on a minimum wage job to help support their family.
○ We understand that this huge jump cannot be taken at once, we propose that there
is an incremental increase from 7.25 to 15 within the span of three years.
● Conclusion: We as a nation have to help our nation(idea, ending sentence)
Raising minimum wage would benefit not only citizens who are working to barely
make ends meet, but all 80.4 million minimum wage workers. We as a nation,
should be inclined to increase the minimum wage due to the multitude of benefits
such as a better lifestyle, improved customer service, a potential lowering of
student debt, and employee productivity. We have neglected this issue for too
long and owe it to the millions of citizens, like Rosalea, across the nation to
increase the minimum wage to $15. Thank you for your time.

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