Exploratory Essay: Is the Minimum Wage High Enough
First, I wanted to find out what minimum wage is. According to Google minimum wage is defined as, "A wage below which employers may not legally pay employees for specific kinds of employment." Next I wanted to know how the wage was calculated, So I searched and found a page on the International Labor Organization's page that listed the six criteria for setting the minimum wage. Criterion 1: the needs of workers and their families; Criterion 2: the general level of wages in the country; Criterion 3: the cost of living and changes therein; Criterion 4: social security benefits; Criterion 5: the relative living standards of other social groups; and Criterion 6: economic factors, including the requirements of economic development, levels of productivity and the level of employment. Now, I had heard of something called a living wage before and I was curious if it differed from the minimum wage and if so how. I learned the living wage is different and it is defined as: "At an absolute minimum, a living wage is the amount a person would need to earn to stay above the federal poverty level." Then I became interested in whether or not the current minimum wage was high enough to be considered the living wage. Unfortunately the minimum wage is only $5.15/ hour while, "The living...
Please join StudyMode to read the full document