Work and Economy

I think the minimum wage in our state should be raised because it will allow most employees to meet their basic needs. Additionally, the municipal policy will encourage living wages for workers instead of aggravating the challenges faced by underpaid employees. In the U.S., the living wage laws tend to vary considerably in practice despite having common goals (Chapman & Thompson, 2022). It mainly covers workers employed under municipal agreements. In contrast, some employees owning firms receive public economic development dollars and those in districts have profited from the substantial public investment.

See related posts

I am inclined to believe that since 2009 the option for increasing the minimum wage have stood at $7.25 (DeSilver, 2021). Despite broad public support, the option to increase it appears to stall out. I concur that the action for raising the minimum age only happens in states, counties, and cities. In this case, by increasing the higher wages, the living wage policies will generate significant interest from various parties. The main concern is the economic effects on employees, municipalities, and businesses. The working families benefit from the living wage laws with either few or no adverse effects. Research shows that the most affected workers in Los Angeles and Boston are adults working full time. Another impact of the living wage laws is that most workers struggle to meet a basic-needs budget in their household. Recent studies show that unemployment in Los Angeles affects just 1% of employees getting a raise (Bernstein & Schmitt, 2022). In addition, the living wage is poorly targeted since most underpaid workers live with moderately high-income levels. Thus, raising the minimum wage is one of the potential policies that would help to address the challenges most low-wage workers face.

Reference

Bernstein, J., & Schmitt, J. (2022). The impact of the minimum wage. Economic Policy Institute. https://www.epi.org/publication/briefingpapers_min_wage_bp/

Chapman, J., & Thompson, J. (2022). The economic impact of local living wages. Economic Policy Institute. https://www.epi.org/publication/bp170/

DeSilver, D. (2021, March 22). When it comes to raising the minimum wage, most of the action is in cities and states, not Congress. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/03/12/when-it-comes-to-raising-the-minimum-wage-most-of-the-action-is-in-cities-and-states-not-congress/

See related post on minimum wage