US Minimum Wage Rate of $ 15

US Minimum Wage Rate of $ 15

It is worth indicating that the United States federal and state law ought to mandate the minimum wage rate per hour to be at 15 dollars. In recent times, the citizens of America have been exposed to higher living standards. Therefore, the cost of living within the states has been challenging to meet. Moreover, there has been a push in the senate and congress over issues of increasing the minimum wage rate to $15 (Jeong and Lee, 2019). It is correct to establish that a living wage refers to the amount of income that individuals demand to facilitate their access to decent living standards and is further adjusted to accommodate for inflation within the harsh economic times. In the financial year 2017, the living wage in America was $16.07 per hour (Fact Sheet, 2019). The living wage has been on a tremendous rise since, 2015, and thus, workers have been pushing to have the minimum wage increased to $15.00 to meet the increasing standards. Consequently, it is reasonable to maintain that an increase in the minimum wage rate to $15 will spur economic growth, facilitate business activities and propel job growth with the US.

The increase in the minimum wage rate among all states within America is projected to boost economic activities within the country and increase the money supply. Hence, it is probable to maintain that individuals are likely to venture more in business activities and a wide variety of investments. The positive injections in the American economy will spur economic growth over time. This is evident through the states of Massachusetts, New York, District of Colombia, and California that have approved the state law of increasing the minimum wage to $15 per hour (Lee, 2019).

The economic benefits are prevalent through the rapid increase in the business investments that have prevailed within the states since the law was enacted. Moreover, the productivity of workers is prevalent through the increased minimum wage rate, which further has positive effects on the economy of the United States of America.

The gender pay gap has been a significant issue within major employment regions within American society. It is right to depict that the gap was brought about by the underrepresentation of women in higher-paying professions. The occupational segregation that has set aside managerial opportunities in the employment areas for men contributed to the expansive pay gap between men and women within the US. Moreover, it can be ascertained that education is a significant contributor to the difference in payments between men and women. In this case, male individuals have been provided with better opportunities in the education sector since, the 18^th century, hence contributing to the looming pay gap between male and female. Men have been preferred by large organizations, especially in full-time jobs as compared to the female gender in the past.

The increase in the minimum wage rate to $15 per hour is associated with numerous effects on the economy of America. For instance, the push to increase the minimum wage rate is likely to compound to an increase in the unemployment levels within the country (Simonovits et al., 2019). In this case, it is specific to indicate that the unemployment is likely to affect the low-waged groups such as women, elderly, and individuals with disabilities as firms will be more concerned with the efficiency and effectiveness of workers. Firms are likely to become uncompetitive since workers will be treated with similar wage rates all over the country. Hence, the probability of experiencing cost-push inflation with the US is very prevalent. However, despite the challenges, it is correct to depict that minimum wage rate in America should be increased to $15 per hour to expand the economic growth and boost high standards of living to meet the living wage.

References

Fact Sheet. (2019). Why America Needs a $15 Minimum Wage Rate? Economic Policy Institute,

February 5.

Jeong, J., & Lee, H. (2019). Public attitudes toward the minimum wage debate: Effects of

partisanship, ideology, beliefs. The Social Science Journal.

Lee, C. C. (2019). Impacts of Minimum Wage & Education Spending on State Economy in

The Us. Global Journal of Business Disciplines, 3(1), 27.

Simonovits, G., Guess, A. M., & Nagler, J. (2019). Responsiveness without Representation:

Evidence from Minimum Wage Laws in the US States. American Journal of Political

Science, 63(2), 401-410.