Why We Need To Raise the Minimum Wage

Stern and Camden assert that the minimum wage should be raised. They also provide justifications for their assertions and rebuttals to those who oppose an increase in the minimum wage. The advocacy for an increased minimum wage will serve the people living below the poverty line (Stern and Camden, 2013). Those living below the poverty line cannot support their families and, therefore, cannot see the benefits of working in their respective jobs.

The government uses bureaucracies, and tax revenues to support minimum wage salaries and provide subsidies to low-wage employers. These two mechanisms have prevented social disorder that would result due to the unbearably low wages. Firms should pay employees salaries that are equivalent to the value of their work. This would motivate employees to work hard and increase productivity. However, employers pay low wages that cannot meet the basic need of the employees. The government supplements the employees through various programs such as Medicaid and food stamps. Such activities prevent employees from raising low wage concerns that would prompt law makers to review them.

When employees’ salaries do not match with the quality of work done, the government should regulate salaries so that they match with the work done. However, the government seems inefficient in this duty. Raising the minimum wage will ensure that employees can afford their basic needs through an easy process rather than through complicated government programs.

Another rationale that should be used to raise the minimum wage is the human dignity that people should be accorded. People with families to cater for expect salaries that will sustain their families. The current minimum wage is not sufficient to meet these needs. Employees lose their dignity when they cannot take care of their families’ financial needs, yet they work unusually hard. People treasure control over their lives. When such control cannot be realized because of the low minimum wages, employees may evade taxes through working in the shadow labor markets where their pay is never disclosed to the government.

The recent call by president Obama to raise the minimum wage to $ 9 per hour is a good gesture to the positive. However, the increase should be progressive up to $12.5 per hour. Such a trend would restore the human dignity that employees lost trough the current low wages. At 22.50 per hour, the employees can comfortably support their families’ and alleviate their poverty levels.

Despite the many reasons to raise the current minimum wage, critics argue that raising the wages will reduce employment chances. However, studies have shown that increasing the minimum wages can alleviate poverty and increase earnings. Negligible effect has been found to emanate from increasing the minimum wages. Others fear that increasing the wages would prompt companies to offshore for jobs. However, low wage jobs are dependent on geographical localities and cannot be served through offshore employees. Critics also argue that the push to increase the minimum wage would lead to automation of tasks that were previously being done by low wage workers. However, automation could have been unavoidable if the small increase in the minimum wage can initiate it. In any case, automation is inevitable in this technologically evolving world. The argument that the increase will favor those not deserving is misplaced. Work should be fairly compensated irrespective of whether those earning are breadwinners or not. Therefore, raising the minimum wage reduces inequality and gives value to work.

Reference

Stern, A., & Camden, C. (2013). Why we need to raise the minimum wage: A higher wage will lift hardworking Americans out of poverty and break their link with government assistance.