Should Minimum Wage Be Raised to $15/Hour - I think Not
By Angel
@Angelee_27 (3460)
United States
December 9, 2015 9:18am CST
From what I understand, the minimum wage came about during the Great Depression. Employees were being taken advantage of and making very little money because there were no regulations. So, the minimum wage was designed to force employers pay their employees enough so they wouldn't starve or anything... NOT to force them to pay them enough to buy a house, car, and everything to live comfortably. I mean, even after minimum wage was implemented, everyone in the family still needed to work in order to live comfortably.
The minimum wage was never designed to give a single person that works a 'living wage', or enough to live comfortably. I keep hearing people say that the minimum wage is supposed to be enough to be a living wage and that anyone who is working 40 hours a week making minimum wage should be able to support their entire family and live comfortably. However, 'minimum wage' and 'living wage' are two different things. The minimum wage was never meant to be a 'living wage'.
If everyone could provide for themselves and their families comfortably just by simply flipping burgers or bagging groceries, then why would anyone want to go to college and enter into a stressful career that requires a lot of effort? There would be less doctors, scientists, engineers, and other jobs that are really important. I mean, if the minimum wage was increased to $15, then that would mean you could earn the same amount working at McDonalds as you could working as an EMT or a nursing assistant. I wonder how many of them would be filling out applications for the easier, high paying, burger flipping job. Either that, or they would be raising hell and demanding that they (the EMT's and Nursing Assistant) should have their wage increased as well to be above what McDonald's employees are making.
Not to mention, if McDonalds (which is not a huge corporation that makes a gah-zillion dollars in profit) had to pay employees $15 per hour, they would have some serious monetary troubles.
This is just my outlook on the whole "minimum wage should be increased to $15 per hour" thing. Of course more money is always a nice thought, but would it really be a smart decision for the USA as a whole?
I mean, seriously... they want $15 per hour yet they can't even remember to put a straw or a few napkins in your bag! To me, it just sounds ridiculous.
What are your views on the minimum wage in the USA?
5 people like this
6 responses
@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
9 Dec 15
My views are your views. They are meant to be starting jobs that people get to climb the ladder. You shouldn't have them for life. How are high school students supposed to gain work experience if middle-aged men and women are holding the positions? I saw that McDonald's has already said that if the wage was raised to that, they would invest in robotics that would replace workers. After all, they don't want to pay people that much (they would have to increase their base prices and that would lose business) so they would rather lose the number of employees by replacing them with machinery. In that case, the workers wouldn't even be making minimum wage - they'd be unemployed.
@Angelee_27 (3460)
• United States
9 Dec 15
That's a good point! Pushing businesses like McDonald's to replace humans with computerized machines that do the all the work is NOT what I consider to be "good" for the USA as a whole. We already have problems with not enough jobs, it will cause even less jobs and then what would we do? There would be no way to pull the USA out of that hole.
On the bright side, maybe the machines would actually get orders correct and not forget straws and napkins! 
1 person likes this
@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
9 Dec 15
@Angelee_27 I've been spoiled by my town's Sheetz gas station since the 90s. Ordering an item on the touch screen is easy and the people behind the counter make the order by following the details. It's completely made to order, and since the user inputs the specifications they can't get it wrong. If McDonald's had had that system, and then machines to make that, then you would only need the person to fix them. Goodbye hired help! If people push the big companies, they push back really hard. That's why it's stupid to try to force an agenda.
@scheng1 (24649)
• Singapore
10 Dec 15
I do not understand the mentality of those who support minimum wage.
Why keep raising the minimum wage?
No matter how high it is, it is still the bare minimum.
Why should those people want to stay at the minimum level? They should think about upgrading their skills, so that they can get a job that pays double or triple the minimum wage.
@Angelee_27 (3460)
• United States
10 Dec 15
True! If someone is not happy with the money they are earning from a place like McDonalds, go to college or take some classes and get a better paying job. Working at McDonalds was never meant to completely support a person financially. I feel that it is more of a starter job for teens. You have to start from the bottom and work your way to the top. People seem to think they should get a free ride to the top and make $15 per hour doing a job that requires no skills or education.
@softbabe44 (5815)
• Vancouver, Washington
9 Dec 15
I think it will cost more then that to live comfortable then it also depends on how much you are currently making.
@Rohvannyn (3098)
• United States
10 Dec 15
Not only that, but $15 an hour would quickly become just like the modern minimum wage is now because prices would, necessarily, go up. Add to that the certainty of businesses cutting jobs and you have a result of a bigger looking paycheck but more people making just minimum wage and the dollar being even smaller. It's a horrible idea.
