Following the president's call for a raise on the minimum wage to $9.00, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and
Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) indicated their support for increasing the minimum wage to $10.10, which now formalized to be the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 (Cooper and Hall). Some people do not agree with the idea that an increase on the minimum wage will benefit the economy and the workers. Some of the minimum wage workers argue that they will loose theirs job if the minimum wage increases, because the employers will try to hire less people to balance out the benefit. Will raising the minimum wage really create disadvantages for the workers and affect the economy in a negative way? It is understandable that so many people are concerned about the new proposal of the government, but it will give the economy a much-needed boost and benefit so many people.

Some workers and organizations do not support the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013. Some argue that 
the raise on the minimum wage will kill jobs and influence the employers to higher less people. An article about the opposing view of the increase on the minimum wage states: "new obligations for businesses could kill jobs, discourage employers from hiring workers, and ultimately slow the recovery" (Cook). As mentioned in the article, some people think that the raise on the minimum wage will hurt the economy and put more workers in danger. In other words, some argue that we do not need a raise on the minimum wage. The government just came up with the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, and this will boost up the economy and benefit millions of Americans. A document of the Economic Policy Institute states: "Recent research reveals that, despite skeptics’ claims, raising the minimum wage does not cause job loss.In fact, throughout the nation, a minimum-wage increase under current labor market conditions would create jobs" Cooper and Hall). Approximately 140,000 net new jobs will be created during the phase-in period. This means that the workers out there will have much more opportunities than they ever did before. Also raising the minimum wage will put more money in the pockets of working families, which means that the workers will spend more.   The increase on the minimum wage will lead to more spending of the working families at small/local businesses, which means that the employers will be making more money because people spend more. Then if  more people start to spend at the businesses, the employers will need more people to work for them; which leads to more hiring of employees and giving more people the chance to work. These researches were done by the government, so it makes the statements reliable. The government knows the best about our economy, and the government came up with the proposal because they recognize the urgency of the issue. The Fair Minimum Wage Act will increase the wage for about 30 million workers in the country. The positive effects resulting from the increase of the minimum wage are clear: it will boost up the economic growth, boost earnings of millions of workers, and create about 140,000 net new jobs. Millions of Americans will benefit from this act.

Citation:

Cook, Nancy. "Why a Minimum-Wage Hike Can't Help the Poor." National Journal(2013). Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 15 Apr. 2013.

Cooper, David, and Doug Hall. "RAISING THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE TO $10.10 WOULD GIVE WORKING FAMILIES, AND THE OVERALL ECONOMY, A MUCH-NEEDED BOOST." Economic Policy Institute. EPI, 13 Mar. 2013. Web. 13 Apr. 2013. <http://www.epi.org/files/2013/bp357--federal-minimum-wage-increase.pdf>.

The blogger's life

 This is a picture taken at Starbucks. I enjoy spending time with my girlfriend at Starbucks.

 I love to go fishing! This was taken during a fishing trip last winter.

 Scuba diving for the first time in my life! Picture taken with my young bro Brian.

 This picture was taken at a wedding. These guys are my best friends and I personally love this picture!

Eating ramen at the airport! YAY Cancun

The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013

President Obama recently called his States of Union address for a raise on the minimum wage to $9 an hour.
Following the president's call, Senate . Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) indicated their support for raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. This proposal has been formalized as the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013. As mentioned in the recent post, this act will benefit millions of workers and our economy as a whole. Raising the minimum wage will reduce the growing income inequality in the society, and more opportunities will be open for diverse of people.

Although workers of all race and ethnicity will benefit from this act, non-Hispanic white workers represent 54% of all the affected workers. Some may argue that the increase in the minimum wage will result the business owners to hire less people to balance out the benefit, but this act will also contribute to the creation of new jobs. An EPI briefing states: "Across the phase-in period of the minimum-wage increase, GDP would increase by roughly $32.6 billion, resulting in the creation of approximately 140,000 net new jobs (and 284,000 job years) over that period" (Cooper and Hall).  In other words, this act will help reduce the unemployment rate, and at the same time make a huge job opening for the young workers also. This act would raise the wage of over 30 million workers throughout the country, and the workers will receive total of $51 billion additional wage in the phase-in period (Cooper and Hall). President Obama stated that the minimum wage workers, who work full-time, do not earn enough to be above the poverty line. People who work hard to support their family should not be living in poverty. A raise on the minimum wage would benefit   those with all kinds of characteristics; in terms of gender, age, race and ethnicity, educational attainment, work hours, family income, and family composition (Cooper and Hall). This will take a huge part in making the economy better. As mentioned before, this act may not please some of the workers because they worry about the job loss. According to a recent research, the increase in minimum wage will not cause job loss. It creates more diverse working environment and opportunities for the people who didn't have a chance before. This will work as a tool for the economic growth, and it will benefit millions of people in our country; not only the workers but the owners too. Increase in the minimum wage will stimulate more spending in small businesses and institutions. It is truly a win-win solution, and this will make a better and happy life for millions of our fellow Americans.

Citation:
Cooper, David, and Doug Hall. "RAISING THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE TO $10.10 WOULD GIVE WORKING FAMILIES, AND THE OVERALL ECONOMY, A MUCH-NEEDED BOOST." Economic Policy Institution. EPI, 13 Mar. 2013. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. <http://www.epi.org/files/2013/bp357--federal-minimum-wage-increase.pdf>.

The minimum wage: A global perspective

Is the current minimum wage ethical?
It is not considered ethical because it is making countless of people fall behind. Every year, the CEO's pay is sky rocketing but the regular employees suffer trying to make a living. The minimum wage only benefits CEOs, but puts the workers down. The cost of living has gone up drastically, so the minimum wage must go up in order for the workers to sustain the living. This issue now became a global topic. The Taiwanese government recently raised the minimum wage to benefit the workers. It now has the monthly minimum wage raised from NT$18,780 (P25,813.30) to NT$19,047 (P26,180.29). The Labor Secretary of Taiwan, Rosalinda Baldoz, states : “We welcome this development as this would benefit a lot of workers. We know that the government of Taiwan ensures that the welfare of its workers is well taken care of." The Taiwanese government came up with this new development, to benefit its workers and the economy. Is the welfare of our workers well taken care of? You wouldn't say so. There are countless of minimum wage workers having trouble just trying to take care of the basic needs. It is ethical for the government to pay close attention to the needs of its people. The United States government is now considering a raise on the minimum wage. The government just introduced the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013. This act will raise the minimum wage to keep the pace with the rising of the cost of living. There are so many benefits the workers will receive from the act. As many as 30 million workers will receive a raise. More than 17 million children have a parent who would get a raise from this act. It would truly be amazing to benefit this huge number of people. The raise on the minimum wage will boost the consumer demand, as the low-income workers spend more money in local businesses. A raise on the minimum wage would benefit the workers and the nation as a whole. It is truly ethical to be living together and have no one fall behind.

Citation:
Raise The Minimum Wage. NELP, n.d. Web. 7 Apr. 2013. http://www.raisetheminimumwage.com/pages/fair-minimum-wage-act-of-2013.

GMA News. GMA Network, 6 Apr. 2013. Web. 7 Apr. 2013. <http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/302642/pinoyabroad/news/taiwan-hikes-minimum-wage-for-workers>.

Minimum wage workers calling for help

There are countless minimum wage workers striving to make a living. It has become almost impossible to live with minimum wage because the cost of living has gone up drastically. Education is essential today, but so many folks miss out on the opportunity because of money. Young students rarely get a job that pays them more than the minimum wage, because they do not have experience in the field. For young students, it is normal to be getting paid less than the ones who are older and more experienced. But they still need money to live: to pay for their education, to pay for the car and gas, to pay for the insurance, and many more. A person living on his or her own cannot survive with minimum wage.



There are countless of hard-working adults who suffer to raise his or her family. As the cost of living goes up, it becomes almost impossible for the minimum wage workers to raise a family. Since the cost of living has sky rocketed, the minimum wage should be raised too. Roger M. Quincy, a minimum wage worker and a father, agrees with the fact that a raise on the minimum wage is urgent. Here's what he has to say about the issue: "I have been working at McDonald’s for two years and it is very difficult to make ends meet on only $8.25 an hour. My wife and I raised our kids on minimum wage salaries and it was very hard for us to support our family and pay for basic needs like clothes and food. Right now we are dependent on food stamps because the cost of living is so expensive. Since the cost of living has kept increasing, I believe that the minimum wage should increase as well so that people can at least make enough money to survive." People should not have to fight for equal pay for equal work. Quincy is not the only one having trouble with surviving with the minimum wage; there are so many hard-working people out there in the same situation. As mentioned above, people become dependent on the government's support and things cannot improve that way. The minimum wage workers become more dependent on the government's support because it is almost impossible for them to make ends meet without it when they have so many things to pay for. Also, the economy cannot grow when so many people are having trouble with just surviving on their own. A raise on the minimum wage will: reduce poverty, help the ones in need, encourage people to get jobs, make a better living for the workers, and bring so much more benefits that can help the economy to grow.

Citation:
Raise The Minimum Wage. NELP, n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2013. <http://www.raisetheminimumwage.com/pages/worker-stories>.

The minimum wage should be raised

The averge national minimum wage for the U.S is about $7.25. That's not enough to live with.
Most of the minimum wage workers work for big corporations like McDonald's. The big corporations claim that they can't afford to pay the workers good enough. It does not make any sense at all to claim that, when the CEO's pay is skyrocketing every year. We all agree with the fact that the hard-working workers deserve more than $7.50 an hour. It is right that the CEOs deserve to get more than the workers, but taking away the workers' money and filling their own greedy stomach isn't the right thing to do. An article on the topic states: "At present, a minimum wage earner working 40 hours a week without ever taking a vacation will make $15,080 a year" (Khan). Isn't that way to low to live? Think about those people working hard without taking any vacations, and perhaps without having a proper social life. A raise on the minimum wage is crucial in our country.

If the minimum wage is raised, it will have a positive impact on our economy. The economy will become more balanced in terms of treating everybody equally. The minimum wage has been a big issue/problem since long time ago. Our president, Mr. Obama outlined a plan to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $9. Someone who is most familiar with our country's economy and social, the president, views the raise on the minimum wage as a crucial problem. How more reliable can it be? Our nation definately needs a raise in the minimum wage. Think about all the hard-working people working for such a low money. As shown on the image above, what are they worth? No one can judge how valuable other person is, but you will surely agree with the fact that every hard-working men and women are worth more than $7.25 an hour. Usually, the jobs with minimum wage are more labor-related jobs; meaning they are more physical and hard. Each and every person of our country is equal, and we all deserve more than that.

Citation:

Khan, Shamus. "The Promise of More: Why We Should Raise the Minimum Wage." Time Ideas. Time, 21 Feb. Web. 18 Mar. 2013. <http://ideas.time.com/2013/02/21/the-promise-of-more-why-we-should-raise-the-minimum-wage/>.