Introduction
The minimum wage has been, for a long time, a topic of discussion in almost all countries since it directly affects the lives of the citizens. There are arguments and counterarguments regarding the effects of the continuous rise of the minimum wages concerning the welfare of the people and the dynamics of the economy.
In the U.S., low-income earners continue in the push for the rise of minimum wages. Throughout the years, due to the changes that have been continually occurring, the minimum wage in most countries has not been increasing at a proportional rate to match the dynamics of the cost of living, pushing people to live in poverty. In the U.S., the current minimum wage set by the federal government is $7.50 per hour. The real value, therefore, is 24% less than the value it had in 1968 (Neumark et al., 2014).
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For a person living with about two of his/her children, the figure means that the family lives below the poverty line. Poverty increases the vulnerability of people to negative engagements and suffering. This article will explore the social importance of raising the minimum wage, the economic principles revolving around the same, and the impacts of the raise on the overall well-being of people. Increasing the minimum wage rate does not only work in favour of reducing poverty but improves the welfare of the vulnerable groups in society. The social importance of the minimum wage The minimum wage is the primary source of the worker’s welfare. As part of the in-work benefits, a decent salary is, at the very least, the source of livelihood of workers.
The fact that it is what people work for, a worker’s wage is their source of motivation and energy to work. The current systems of the economy have led to the notion that the economy is a separate entity away from the well-being of people (Lemos, 2009). Since the workforce is part of the things that the households provide to the firms, the well being of the people who provide the labour is also part of the equation. It would be a mistake if the firms had the upper hand over the households whereby the households provide more inputs than what they gain from the firms.
The society needs a balanced equation between what it gives and what it receives. The workers should, therefore, receive a payment that is commensurate with the hard work that they do for the government and firms (Kaufman, 2010). About the quality of life, the workers need to have enough to meet their daily requirements, regardless of their skill. It is from the wages they get that they can contribute to the activities of the society as well as their own needs.
If the minimum wage continuously rises as the dynamics of life demand more, the people who receive the minimum wages feel appreciated and live comfortable lives. An increase in the minimum wage reduces income disparity. It is common to find people who earn a hundredfold the amount that others earn. The number of wages given usually depend on such considerations as experience and level of skill (Kaufman, 2010). The result of the wage disparity between people is a continually widening gap between the poor and the rich. The increase serves as a way of slowing down the rate at which the two groups’ income inequality rises.
Since it would not serve the high-income earners right to reduce their sources of income, the viable way to reduce the income disparity is through increasing the minimum wages. In California, for example, the wages are continuously raised to reach $15 by 2022 since 2016 (Neumark et al., 2014). Raising the minimum wage increases the chances of low-income earners to earn more in the long term future. Apart from just consuming, their marginal propensity to save increases, since the wages provide enough for both consumption and saving. Increasing their chances to pull themselves out of poverty is a way of motivating them. It goes a long way in helping the society to have fewer people who are dependent on help from those who earn better.
Economic principles
Raising the minimum wage is bound to affect some other economic areas. One of the areas that are affected is taxation. As the economic principle states, future consequences count. Upon raising the minimum wages in a society that uses the progressive system of taxation, the tax bracket of the workers also rises. The effect of the rise, therefore, is that the people get taxed even more. A government that can raise a better amount of revenue is also able to provide the people with better services. It is common with the rational governments that when they receive more taxes, they use it to benefit the society in a better way than before.
The impact of the rise in minimum wages is, therefore, indirectly linked to better standards of living courtesy of the government. Taxes help in offering better roads, free education, and other social amenities that a properly functioning government can provide. It is a wrong notion that the raise would lead to only more taxation as a one-sided deal. The taxes, although collected more largely, indirectly benefit the people. Raising the minimum wage affects the demand and supply of goods and services. This falls in line with the economic principle that incentives matter. When people get additional disposable income, they gain the purchasing power they did not have before.
The result is a rise in the demand for goods and services relevant to their new level of income (Lemos, 2008). The demand for better clothes than just the ones considered as ordinary, for example, increases. The demand rise for these products and services means that the people can now afford to live in more comfortable lifestyles than their previous ones. In such a case, their welfare is taken care of in that they can afford more than just the basic needs. They can afford the other higher levels of life in the hierarchy of needs. A rise in minimum wages affects just a small percentage of the workers, hence not a big cost for the firms (Schmitt, 2013).
The principle of weighing the advantages versus the disadvantage of a minimum wage is manifest in considering between the rise in the cost of production and the increased demand for goods and services. Through the increase in demand for goods and services, the firms gain the market for what they produce. The demand counters the notion that the firms incur heavier costs of production than before (Lemos, 2008). There is a more significant benefit for the firm since the number of employees affected by the raise is just a fraction of the total number of workers, depending on the employment system that the firm uses. The amount that the firm gains from the workers’ purchase of the goods and services that it produces is, therefore, much higher than the amount by which the cost of labour increases (Lemos, 2008).
In the past, it has appeared as if the rise in the cost of labour leads to the employers reducing the number of working hours, resulting in low wage earners in the long run. However, the recent researches reveal that the higher wages reduce the rate of labour turnover, which benefits both the workers and the employers. Those with experience remain at the firm, hence reducing the costs of hiring and training process (Schmitt, 2013). Also, the employers still require the factor of labour. Thus, firms are not likely to let go of what they need.
The notion that a rise in minimum wages leads to unemployment is, therefore not entirely significant to consider since the demand for labour still pushes the firms to hire. The social impact of raise in the minimum wages A rise in the minimum wage results in the general rise in the standards of living of workers and their families. Upon receiving a better salary, workers can improve the number and quality of goods and services they can purchase at a particular period. A rise in the general conditions of living means that the family that was previously living in poverty and struggling to pay for their needs is enabled to afford a better life, maybe above the poverty line (Lemos, 2008). As previously stated, at the wage rate of $7.50 in 2018, a family with two children lives at around the poverty line. A gradual rise of the wage rate lifts the family to a more acceptable level of living where they can afford a better lifestyle regarding better housing, balanced diet, and improved general conditions.
The fact that the raise affects a large number of workers at the same time means that poverty levels reduce at the same time. In the U.S., about 35 million people are affected directly while nearly 7 million people are affected indirectly. By 2022, for example, if the goal of increasing the wage to hit $12 is achieved, the poverty in the U.S will be lower by lifting about 4.5 million people (Neumark et al., 2014).
It is of great importance to match the workers’ earnings will have matched the rate of inflation and other economic conditions. A rise in minimum wages raises the social standards. A family that has a generally good income can significantly reduce the indulgence in such negative activities as domestic violence. Lack of money to provide for the family is part of the causes of domestic violence (Neumark et al., 2014). A rise in the amount of money that the breadwinners get means that the reasons for the violence reduce by a significant percentage.
Secondly, the cases of child malnutrition reduce significantly since the family can feed on a better diet. It is important to consider the well-being of the dependents of the workers, children being the main dependents. The rates of child mistreatment also reduce significantly when the breadwinners can provide for them since the latter can stick around home and take care of the children instead of looking for more jobs to feed the family (Schmitt, 2013).
With a better living condition, the chances of teenage pregnancies are generally lower. Female teenagers can attend school instead of helping their parents in the search for basic needs, which would otherwise make them more vulnerable to unethical people in society. When the wages are raised, there is fundamental equality of life among all citizens. The earners of minimum wages also gain better chances of earning a better income in the long run from the investments they make using the remainder after satisfactory consumption. The laws regarding raising the minimum wages cut across all firms, manipulating them to give equal payments for the work done by all people regardless of their sex, ethnicity, or any other different features, creating a sense of equality (Kaufman, 2010).
Conclusion
In conclusion, raising the minimum wages has numerous advantages to the welfare of people and indirectly affects the employers positively. There are generally more advantages in gradually increasing the wage to match the economic conditions of the time, weighing the pros against the disadvantages (Lemos, 2009). There is more room for research in the grey areas such as the result of raising the minimum wages on the number of jobs and hours of working.
Technologies Of The Civil War
Technologies of the Civil War
During the Civil War, many technological advances were created to defeat enemies. Several of the technologies that were created during the Civil War are used today and have become more and more advanced over the years. The Civil War was between northern and southern United States from 1861 to 1865. Northern states were known as the Union and the southern states were the Confederacy.
The Confederacy wanted to become a separate nation because they believed in owning slaves, which later led to the Civil War. During the Civil War, the Union fought for the end of slavery, and in 1865 they defeated the Confederacy freeing several slaves. Many technologies used in the Civil War helped the Union defeat the Confederacy and put an end to slavery. Some of the technology used during the Civil War includes rifles, the Gatling gun, torpedoes, ironclads, submarines, telegraphs, railroads, etc. Before reading the three articles, I knew several of the technologies used during the Civil War, but I didn’t know how they were used or how they worked. Throughout this paper, I will be explaining the three articles and the importance of them. The articles are written by Ed McCaul, Ken J, and PBS History Detectives.
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Ed McCaul is an assistant Dean at the Ohio State University. In McCaul’s article, The Civil War Saw Rapid Technological Advances in Artillery Projectiles and Their Accompanying Fuses, he focuses his article on the use of artillery projectile in the Civil War and how it works. This article was very lengthy, but it had a lot of useful information. The article was well organized when talking about different artillery projectiles. Throughout the article, the author provides the reader with a smooth transition from paragraph to paragraph. This reader finds this easier to read and allows them not to get confused.
When talking about the artillery projectiles, the author describes how they function in enormous detail. Unlike the other authors, this author effectively named an artillery projectile and explained it in great detail, instead, of simply telling the reader who invented it. Also, this article helps the reader understand how the artillery projectiles were so effective during the Civil War. For example, the author describes how the artillery projectile could be shot directly towards the ground, causing fragments from the ground to explode, injuring the men as easy as a bullet.
Ken J. is the owner and creator of Civil War Academy. He has a Bachelor’s degree in History and has focused his studies on military history. In Ken’s article How Did Civil War Technology Create Modern War, he talks about the technology used in the Civil War using his opinion. He uses some facts in the article but mainly to express his opinion about the technology used. For example, he talks about the rifle making the biggest impact on the Civil War. These readers that have read this article may disagree or believe different technologies made the biggest impact on the Civil War. The beginning of the article is unorganized and jumps around talking about different technologies used in the Civil War. The author goes from one sentence talking about a technology, then the next talking about a different technology. For instance, the author talks about rifles allowing soldiers to fire accurately from long distances, then, immediately changes to the use of photography.
Towards the middle of the article, it becomes more organized and easier to gather information. Rather than jumping around from place to place, the author introduces a technology used in the Civil War and describes it before moving onto the next technology. This reader realizes that at the end of the article it was much easier to read and gather the useful information since it was more organized.
The History Detectives and History Detectives Special Investigations co-produced for PBS by Oregon Public Broadcasting and Lion Television.
In this article, Civil War Innovations, the History Detectives explain the technologies developed in the Civil War in a simple way. Unlike the other two articles, the authors name the technologies developed and writes a brief summary about each one. The authors inform the reader of the date the technology was invented, who invented it, how it worked, how it was significant, who used it (Union or Confederacy), was it effective, etc. Just looking at the article, it seems to be unorganized or would jump all over the place, but after reading the article it is well organized. The authors are extremely simple and to the point when explaining the technologies used, but they still get the information across. For example, the authors didn’t make the article extremely long, which is smart because the reader doesn’t want to read a lengthy article. The authors organized the article not to be lengthy so the reader would want to continue reading it, but still gave the reader the useful information they needed.
After reading the three articles, I’ve learned many more technologies that were used during the Civil War and how they work. The technologies used during the Civil War have changed tremendously. They’ve become more and more advanced over the years but they’re still very effective. My favorite article I read was Civil War Innovations written by the History McCloy 4.
Detectives. This article taught me many more of the technologies used during the Civil War that I didn’t know about. It was exceptionally easy to read and understand the author’s point of view and information they wanted the reader to receive. My second favorite article was The Civil War Saw Rapid Technological Advances in Artillery Projectiles and Their Accompanying Fuses, written by Ed McCaul. This article was very informative and well written. The only thing I disliked about it was that it was super lengthy.
My least favorite article was How Did Civil War Technology Create Modern War, written by Ken J. The article written by Ken was unorganized and jumped all over the place. As a reader, this made the article confusing and difficult to read. Overall, reading these three articles informed me undeniably about the technology used during the Civil War. I thought I knew a lot of the technologies used during the Civil War, but after reading these three articles I realized there is a lot more than I thought. Not only did these articles inform me of the technologies that were used, but they also increased my knowledge on how military weapons are used and how they work. All the technology used in the Civil War is still around today and continues to grow and grow each day helping America become more advanced.
