In the article "Time For a Raise?" by Patricia Smith she describes how President Obama has a plan to have the minimum wage raised to $9 an hour by 2015 and telling the good, bad, and interesting aspects of this change he is trying to make. In the article Smith stated "Obama wants Congress to raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour from $7.25, which would be the first increase since 2009."
The article includes quotes from Patricia as well as other working people and people who work for the government. One quote that stood out to me was when Rajeev Dhawan stated "What matters for people earning minimum wage is how much money they take home in total in their paycheck. Their hourly rate may go up, but their number of hours may come down, so it's not an overall increase." This stood out to me because the statement speaks true. If the wage goes up that means the employers have to pay more and they may not have the budget for that to happen. So they would fire workers, shorten their hours, and raise prices, which could end up bad for everyone.
I think that raising the minimum wage is a fairly good idea. Though it would take a lot of work and thinking through for it to workout the way Obama sees it. Something like this is delicate especially with the economy we have today.`
This article makes me think about the calculations people have to make when they get their paycheck. Like, what they have to buy for the month, how much everything will cost, and then add the tax that goes along with it. Basic living essentials cost a lot today so they have to think about that plus other things that they need or may want. Maybe it is a good thing Obama is raising the minimum because plenty of people are struggling these today. I hope that if the minimum wage does go up everything gets better, including the economy.
Nice post. 100
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