America and the Minimum Wage Essay Example
Name: marques chapman
Date: 11/27/2012
AB224 - Microeconomics
Research Paper Draft – 50 points
1) Title of your research paper
America and the Middle Wage
2) Introduction – The introduction should contain a ‘hook’, a general quote or interesting fact. Then two or three broad, general statements, and the thesis statement.
The federal government has imposed a minimum wage since 1938, and nearly every the state impose their own minimum wages. These laws prevent employers from paying wages below a mandated level. While the aim is to help workers, decades of economic research show that minimum wages usually end up harming workers and the broader economy. Minimum wages particularly stifle job opportunities for low-skill workers, youth, and minorities, minimum wage is counterproductive and causes more harm than good.
3) Body of the paper - your three major points. Here you present the information you have collected, state the purpose of the topic, and assess its impact on the different economic actors. Various sources should be used and clearly listed.
1- Proponents of a higher minimum wage often argue that that it's difficult to support a family when the only breadwinner earns the current minimum wage. This claim is flawed, for a couple of reasons. First, for a minimum-wage increase to help a single breadwinner earn money for his or her family, the worker must have a job and keep it at this higher wage. Increases in the minimum wage actually redistribute income among poor families by giving some higher wages and putting others out of work. A 1997 National Bureau of Economic Research study estimated that the federal minimum-wage hike of 1997 actually increased the number of poor families by 4.5 percent. Also a relatively small percentage of the workers directly affected are the sole breadwinner in a family with children. A study by the Employment Policies Institute shows that in California, for example, only 20 percent of the
Date: 11/27/2012
AB224 - Microeconomics
Research Paper Draft – 50 points
1) Title of your research paper
America and the Middle Wage
2) Introduction – The introduction should contain a ‘hook’, a general quote or interesting fact. Then two or three broad, general statements, and the thesis statement.
The federal government has imposed a minimum wage since 1938, and nearly every the state impose their own minimum wages. These laws prevent employers from paying wages below a mandated level. While the aim is to help workers, decades of economic research show that minimum wages usually end up harming workers and the broader economy. Minimum wages particularly stifle job opportunities for low-skill workers, youth, and minorities, minimum wage is counterproductive and causes more harm than good.
3) Body of the paper - your three major points. Here you present the information you have collected, state the purpose of the topic, and assess its impact on the different economic actors. Various sources should be used and clearly listed.
1- Proponents of a higher minimum wage often argue that that it's difficult to support a family when the only breadwinner earns the current minimum wage. This claim is flawed, for a couple of reasons. First, for a minimum-wage increase to help a single breadwinner earn money for his or her family, the worker must have a job and keep it at this higher wage. Increases in the minimum wage actually redistribute income among poor families by giving some higher wages and putting others out of work. A 1997 National Bureau of Economic Research study estimated that the federal minimum-wage hike of 1997 actually increased the number of poor families by 4.5 percent. Also a relatively small percentage of the workers directly affected are the sole breadwinner in a family with children. A study by the Employment Policies Institute shows that in California, for example, only 20 percent of the