Purpose Statement: This paper will analyze some of the so called positive and negative attributes in order to shed light on how minimum wage should not be considered positive or negative, but in between.

        At first glance, raising minimum wage appears to be a positive, because those that are earning the minimum wage rate will end up earning more money. However, many people do not look further into the issue in order to see where the extra money is coming from. Nor do individuals research the effects a higher minimum wage has on businesses. "How a higher minimum wage affects a firm depends on how much the firm’s operating costs change and on how the firm responds to these increases" (Reich et al. 2016, 17). Often times, businesses either are not willing to take the hit and lose extra money to pay employees, or they are a smaller business who really cannot afford to lose that money. In either case, one method of coming up with the extra needed funds in order to pay a higher minimum wage is by increasing the price of goods sold (Lemos 2004, 2). While this is an often talked about topic, there is not much actual data to support that raising minimum wage is causing a drastic change in prices. In fact, "most studies found that a 10% US minimum wage increase raises food prices by no more than 4% and overall prices by no more than 0.4%" (Lemos 2004, 13). Realistically speaking, although raising the minimum wage does raise prices it is not too significant of a raise. However, that little bit can still make an impact.

            This is especially true considering that "minimum wage is not indexed to the price level" (Elwell 2013, 1). Therefore, when the rate of minimum wage is increased it is generally already too late due to the fact that overtime it has significantly lost its value. Even though the minimum wage has been increased, it is not to the full extent it needs to be in order to equal purchasing power. For example, for the minimum wage in 2004 to equal the purchasing power of the minimum wage in 1968 it would have had to be increased by 26% (Elwell 2013, 1). When minimum wages are adjusted they do not "keep pace with the increase in consumer prices" (Elwell 2013, 1). Since minimum wage increase has not kept pace, over time it has allowed the purchasing power of minimum wage to fall significantly. Even though individuals are making more with wage increases, they are not able to buy as much.

            We have all heard the old saying that money cannot buy happiness, but is this really the case? While it may not actually be able to purchase the feeling of happiness per se, research suggests that increasing minimum wage does in fact have a direct correlation to mental well- being. There have been two thought processes related to this idea. The first being that raising minimum wage allows individuals to actually be able to take care of their financial needs without having to constantly be stressed about how to find the funds. With the reduced amount of stress comes less of the mentality of not being able to take care of oneself or others. The less stress, the less a person without any kind of mental illness is going to want to harm themselves. The second thought process is concerning job satisfaction. If an individual is receiving more money for the same job they were doing yesterday, they may have more job satisfaction. However, what happens to their co-workers who may have to wait even longer for their next pay raise due to wage suppression? During this next portion both of these ideas will be analyzed to see if there really is a more positive or negative aspect concerning mental wellbeing and the raising of minimum wage.

How Take Home Wages Affect Suicide Rates

        "In 2017, there were >47100 preventable suicide deaths in the USA; suicide accounted for 19% of deaths among adults ages 18-24 and 11% among adults ages 24-44 years…" (Kaufman, Salas-Hernandez, and Komro 2020, 219). While this is not a paper about suicide, it is important to note that suicide is an issue within the United States, and any possible ways to mitigate suicide rates should be further studied. In an attempt to do just that, monthly data was taken from 1990 until 2015 from all the states in the United States. The data referenced suicide rates and the differences between federal minimum wage and state minimum wage, since "suicide is often associated with financial stressors such as job loss, debt or financial hardship.." (Kaufman, Salas-Hernandez, and Komro 2020, 219).

Peer Review Questions/Criteria:

1. Is a clear thesis/purpose statement provided?
2. Is the discussion logically organized, with clear transitions from one key point to the next? Explain.
3. Are citations properly formatted in Turabian Author-Date style, and are most Basic Writing Errors avoided? Explain.
4. Are claims sufficiently supported by valid evidence and logical reasoning? Explain.
5. Does the author treat the opposing arguments surrounding his/her chosen topic objectively, or is there a need for improvement? Explain.
6. Which of the author’s sources seem to provide the most relevant background or supporting information (identify 2 or 3)? Are additional sources or data needed to support 
any specific claims or observations? Explain

NEED ASSIGNMENT HELP?

We guarantee plagiarism-free and AI-free writing services. Every assignment is crafted with originality, precision, and care to meet your academic needs.

Ready to get started? Place your order directly on this post!

Let us help you achieve excellence—authentic work, every time.