Welfare reform and not being able to survive on current minimum wage - Essay Example

These were the first laws to recognize the overtime pay policies, eight-hour workday, and minimum wages for workers. A century later, there has been a lot of criticisms on the impact and effects of these minimum wages in America. Ehrenreich (3) argue that “minimum wages is a contributing factor to inflation, unemployment, and high prices”. On the other hand, other people believe that minimum wages play a role in protecting the rights and welfare of workers. Ehrenreich (1) is one of the people who argue against the establishment of minimum wages.

She argues that by creation of a minimum wage, the government and business organizations are exploiting the society. This is because the minimum wages established by the government cannot help an individual to live comfortably in the society (Ehrenreich, 16). For example, the current minimum wages in United States is 7.50 dollars per hour. Ehrenreich (7) explains that this amount of money is very little, and it cannot make a person to live comfortably in any States, within America. For example, this amount of money cannot pay a nice two bed roomed house in United States.

This is for an individual who is working for about 40 hours per week. Ehrenreich (17) argues that the “group of people who are vulnerable, and greatly affected by this concept of minimum wages are single mothers”. These are women who are alone, and they are forced to carter for the need of their children. The 7.50 minimum wages is not sufficient to help these women carter for their needs. It is because they lack time to seek other works, or work for overtime, for purposes of supplementing their incomes.

This is because they have to carter for the needs of their offspring’s, and hence they are forced to leave work early. In fact, Ehrenreich (12) explains that “most employers normally complain that the major problem they