Protecting the Future of Our Labor Force - Essay Example

Minimum wage laws are necessary to protect the future of our labor force by providing a livable wage for each worker and protecting workers fro beingexploited by their employers. As such, the minimum wage should increase. The minimum wage laws of the United States and in particular Wisconsin has always been the subject of debate in the media especially in talk shows such as Oprah where they examine minimum wage laws and its impact on people’s lives. Minimum wage laws are created to protect workers from being exploited, a lower minimum wage would mean those who make a little more than the minimum wage even if the wage is not enough for the worker to support themselves or their family it would mean that the worker is not eligible for any help or support from the government, it also means that those who are little above the minimum wage will have to pay normal tax rates further encumbering them while making them struggle to make ends meet (Wikipedia source,n.a) . There has also been several problems encountered in addition to the problems that have been stated by minimum wage laws, one of them that is currently being debated about is the quality of life of those who are just a little bit above the minimum wage and the problems they face when it comes to literally be living paycheck to paycheck. In a recent film unveiled by Michael Moore in Cannes is his ‘Sicko’, which displayed many of the problems faced by those who are just a little bit above the minimum wage, the film depicts real people who are living on most of their paycheck but when they get sick or hurt hospitals would charge them a high sum of money because they cannot afford medical insurance. Because of this whenever any of the workers got sick they will heavily be in debt and most of the time they are unable to repay their medical debts thus furthering them into a vicious cycle until they are declared bankrupt and become homeless (Moore, 2007). From the statement above, it is clear that it should be proposed that the minimum wage rate should be increased to a level where at least those who are a bit above of the minimum wage are able to pay their taxes as well as be able to afford other things that improve a person’s quality of life, to be able to afford their medical fees, their children’s school fees, to be given paid vacations and last but not least, be able to have enough to save their money for a rainy day. However, there is also the other side of the minimum wage law, many have argued that minimum wage laws which give out welfare encourage people from ever having jobs, allowing them to collect their benefits monthly while they do nothing increasing the likelihood of unemployment and lesser manpower. The question of minimum wage rates is a very tricky conception, if the wage is too low, it will cause those who are a little bit above the minimum wage line to suffer, unable to collect benefits whilst paying taxes fully. If the minimum wage is too high it might discourage people to ever find employment and people would be content being paid welfare benefits without ever having to do a job. Quite recently this year President Bush has increased the minimum wage rate because there has been several complaints and dissent within the mass media and among the population in general but there still seems to be problems regarding even the minimum wage law at hand. The minimum wage laws of the United States have always been lampooned in the media, below are many of the examples taken from many websites that feature the difficulty of a silent majority of minimum wage workers. Photo taken from www.CartoonStock.com, caption reads, “So THIS, Hartwelder, is how YOU spend your lunch hours?!” Photo taken from www.amptoons.com. The photo shows that there is a lot more issues in line with politics that affect minimum wage laws, it also shows the difference between the Leftists and the Republicans who are adamant to keep the minimum wage law at an all time low – this has been argued to benefit most the corporations who support Republicans. In Wisconsin, the minimum wage rate was increased to $6.50 on the 1st of June, 2006 following the media’s response to minimum wage rates, may families weren’t able to afford their even most basic necessities as prior to this increase the minimum wage rate was $5.60, while not even $6 an hour was enough to cover basic necessities such as housing, school fees, food, medical bills and the most cheapest form of transport. Taken from the study conducted by Oprah in one of her shows concerning minimum wage laws and its impact on actual people (VIDEO: Oprah tackles minimum wage crisis, 2006) it was calculated that even if the minimum wage was around the minimum wage of Wisconsin’s $6.50, a person who makes a little above the minimum wage, for example, $7 would still not be able to afford even the most basic necessities whilst being held responsible to pay taxes, be refused welfare support and not given any food rations. If anything, the newer increase on minimum wage offered by President Bush would still not be enough to cover a person. For example, Houston, Texas is rated on average as the most cheapest city to live in America (Davenport, 2007), a class B apartment in a safer area to live cost at least $722 to rent. A family of two adults that makes a little above the minimum wage with small children would be at a disadvantage and would be at the brink of poverty as they would be living from paycheck to paycheck. It isn’t any surprise that the cheapest rent is usually available in the more seedier sides of a city or town leaving most of those who make exactly minimum wage or a little more above minimum wage to be cast as a minority and more likely than not become affected and as a result open to more social problems. In conclusion, minimum wage rate needs to be increased in order to provide a better quality of life for American people. In another post that divulges the number of Americans that are affected by minimum wage problems, the calculations are staggering (Christy, 2005) , similar to Oprah Winfrey’s take on minimum wage, it has been calculated that the average person who makes $5.15 an hour makes only $10,700 in a year after being tax deducted. There has already been many defilement of employee rights that have been occurring in the United States, one of them being the ‘Downsizing’ of companies that have left many people jobless as well as the use of ‘Outsourcing’ where large conglomerates hire or set up their companies overseas for even cheaper wages than hiring Americans. The minimum wage law and its rates should be reviewed as well as changed to protect the rights of the workers and employees should also be made aware of the consequences that they face if it is left unchecked and continued. Reference: Christy (14th June,2005), Minimum Wage : By the Numbers, Social and Economic Justice. Retrieved on 4th July,2007 from http://thinkprogress.org/2005/06/14/fast-facts-on-the-minimum-wage/ Davenport, Melinda (28th January,2007), Houston Among America’s Cheapest Cities to Rent. Retrieved on 4th of July, 2007 from http://houston.about.com/b/a/257262.htm Minimum Wage Laws , (n.a), Retrieved 3rd of July 2007 from www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_wage Moore, Michael (Director & Producer) (2007), Sicko [Film] N.a, posted on 15th April, 2006, VIDEO : Oprah tackles minimum wage crisis, Retrieved on 3rd of July, 2007 at http://thinkprogress.org/2006/04/15/oprah-and-min-wage/ Read More