Raising The Minimum Wage Analysis

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Do you or someone you know work in a fast food restaurant? How’s the pay? Do you think it is a good or bad idea to raise the minimum wage? ) In an article entitled, “Raising the Minimum Wage Is Still a Bad Idea.” Written by Ramesh Ponnuru, this author gives reasons as to why raising the minimum wage is a bad idea. Conversely, another article written by Andrew M. Cuomo called, “Fast-Food Workers Deserve a Raise.” Gives his reasons as to why raising the minimum wage is a good idea. Ponnuru believes that raising the minimum wage is a bad idea because he believes that it is not an effective way to fight against poverty, it would be harder for low- skilled workers to get a job, and finally there is another way to raise more money for people to take …show more content…
As Cuomo states, raising the minimum wage will not hurt the economy, because 600 economists have a, “…growing consensus that raising the wages for the lowest- paid workers doesn’t hurt the economy. In fact, by increasing consumer spending and creating jobs, it helps the economy” (3). Ponnuru has also come to the conclusion that raising the minimum wage will not make the economy worse. “Raising the minimum wage has a lot of support in the polls and it does nothing directly to make the federal budget worse” …show more content…
First, Ponnuru believes that raising the minimum wage, despite the thoughts and actions of President Obama, is not an effective tool to use against fighting poverty. “Raising the minimum wage is not an effective tool against poverty, either. A 2010 study found that state poverty rates were unaffected by minimum wage increases” (Ponnuru 1). This is only one of many reasons that Ponnuru believes that raising the minimum wage is a bad idea, because it will do nothing to help fight against the growing poverty in the United States. Also, Ponnuru believes that with raising the minimum wage, it would be harder for people with little skills to find jobs. “Economists no longer have a consensus. A 2013 survey of some of them asked whether raising the minimum wage to $9 an hour ‘would make it harder for low-skilled workers to find employment.’ Thirty-four percent said yes” (Ponnuru 2). Finally Ponnuru makes a point that there is another way to raise money for people to take home. As Karen McVeigh suggests, “52% of the Fast Food workers earn so little they are forced to rely on at least one type of public assistance program.” As Ponnuru says, “Strain goes on to advocate other ways of raising take-home money for low-income workers, such as expanding the earned income tax” (3). By raising the earned income tax, Ponnuru believes that it will help raise money for low income