Minimum Wage During The Great Depression - 1419 Words

The Minimum Wage Battle In the United States, the minimum wage was passed during the Great Depression in 1938 to protect the buying power of normal workers in a period in which the â€Å"unemployment rate was still a very high 19 percent† (Sklar, 2009, p. 1). Since that time, there has been significant debate about the controversial topic of raising the federal minimum wage. The federal minimum wage law was created to eliminate unfair practices of sweat shops and manufacturing companies during this time period. Thus, the minimum wage is defined as the smallest salary that an employer is legally allowed to pay employees for their work. Since the time of the Great Depression, minimum wage has been utilized to guarantee that employees are paid†¦show more content†¦Sklar provides numerous statistics in the article including that the wealthiest 1% of Americans hold 23.5% of the revenue in the United States (Sklar, 2009, p. 2). Moreover, â€Å"average wages are 7% lower to day, adjusted for inflation, than they were in 1973† (Sklar, 2009, p. 2). Indeed, statistics are provided to support that unemployment rates do not rise when the minimum wage is raised. In fact, the Fiscal Policy Institute analyzed that â€Å"states that raised minimum wages above the federal level experienced better employment† (Sklar, 2009, p. 2). As people have more money, they spend that money on necessities. Hence, as the minimum wage rises, people will have more purchasing power causing an improved economy through spending. The article continues to provide statistics that demonstrate previous minimum wage increases have resulted in sizeable economic spending to boost the economy. These are persuasive statistics in favor of raising the minimum wage. Additionally, emotional appeals are made in the article to appeal to the values of the audience. For instance, Sklar quotes President Franklin Roosevelt from a 1938 address to Congress stating† millions of workers receive pay so low that they have little buying power. Aside from the undoubted fact that they thereby suffer great humanShow MoreRelatedThe Minimum Wage During The Great Depression1229 Words   |  5 Pages Since the beginning of minimum wage during the Great Depression, the discussion of the how much minimum wage should be has always been occurring. Currently there is a strong push for the minimum wage to be raised, especially as Americans compare the current American rate to other countries’ rates. The New York Times recently reported that unionized Danish fast-food workers are paid more than twice as much as the average fast-food worker in America, and the Danish workers also receive benefitsRead MoreIncrease Minimum Wage During The Great Depression1 834 Words   |  8 PagesIncrease Minimum Wage After the Great Depression, President Franklin D. 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