In William Warren’s political cartoon, “Minimum Wage Spike,” published in 2014 by Net Right Daily, powerfully depicts Warren’s viewpoint of President Obama’s attempts to raise minimum wage from the average eight dollars to a higher ten to fifteen dollars per hour. Although the cartoon is two years old, the context of this cartoon is still debated and relevant because it demonstrates the effects of raising minimum wage and the effects it will have on employees. The cartoon contains an arrow that represents the hike in minimum wage, or as Warren refers to it as a “spike,” that is impaling through a man with a label that reads “500k Jobs.” William Warren effectively discredits Obama’s proposal through the use of symbolism and analogy that attempts …show more content…
Essentially, Washington D.C. was one of the cities that established raised wages. In Jason Russell’s article, D.C. Lost Restaurant Jobs After Min. Wage Hike, he describes the repercussions placed on employees once the minimum wage was raised. Russell explains that after Washington D.C.’s minimum wage rose to $10.50 an hour in 2015, increases in restaurant jobs failed to keep up with the quick growth it carried during the economic recovery and further explains how restaurant jobs fell by 1,400 in D.C. (Russell 1). This quotation reflects Warren’s cartoon by representing the symbols of the spike and the man being pierced; recalling that the spike in this picture is portrayed as the harm that will be caused to employees due to the hike in minimum wage, and the man representing minimum wage jobs. Russell explains how employment reduced once the wage was raised because restaurants were unable to pay all existing employees the new wage, so to be able to keep up with the wages, restaurants were forced to lay off employees to pay fewer amounts of workers. However, Russell continues to explain how the wage rose once again in July of 2016
In the book Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting By in America, journalist Barbara Ehrenreich goes undercover into the world of minimum wage employees to research how difficult it is to live off of their salary. She splits up the book into three sections where she tackles these jobs in diverse areas to be able to compare her data. In each section Ehrenreich plows through several jobs, sometimes struggling to afford housing and food. She takes these first-hand experiences and compiles them into a book that gives readers an insight to the world of minimum wage workers. Ehrenreich begins her journey by taking time to prepare for the hardships she may face along the way.
The solution to the minimum-wage problem that haunts American workers in the 21st century is to strive for lower everyday expenses rather than for a higher minimum wage. The renowned author Barbara Ehrenreich, in her informational novel Nickel and Dimed, tells the story of how she performed a social experiment by working several minimum wage jobs, while living a lifestyle of a low-wage worker. In her novel, Ehrenreich concludes that minimum wage workers “in good health” can “barely support [themselves]” (199). Even though Ehrenreich earned “$1039 in one month,” at the end of the month she only had “$22 left over” as she had to spend “$517” on food and gas, and “$500” to pay her rent (197). As evident, Ehrenreich’s wage is not the cause of her
At first glance, these writings may seem unrelated. However, the themes of minimum wage and work ethic go hand-in-hand regarding these texts. These writings express the correlation of working a minimum wage job and having a strong work ethic does not always result in enough money to pay for the cost of living. Consequently, unskilled workers become forced to
My father used to always say that, “If you got Congress in a room together, they’d talk about everything but what was actually important,” and it’s on a similar note that William Finnegan, a longtime contributor to the New Yorker, begins his piece. In Demonizing the Minimum Wage, which first appears in the online version of the New Yorker magazine, Finnegan dives head first into his argument, claiming that the federal minimum wage, which as of September 2014 was $7.25 an hour, is simply not enough. Through the implementation of logical references, subtle emotional appeals and several credible sources, William Finnegan efficiently argues that the current federal minimum wage is too low. Throughout his article, Finnegan uses several logical
In the article A Capitalist’s Case for a $15 Minimum Wage, the author Nicolas Hanauer urges for a raise in the nation’s minimum wage. Hanauer is a founder of Second Avenue Partners, a company focused on startup and emerging technologies. He also plays a major role in the founding of a dozen big name companies. As an entrepreneur, Hanauer has thoroughly analyzed the benefits raising the minimum raise would have on citizens, and especially on businesses. In his central argument for this change is that it will repair the economic cycle.
A rhetorical analysis of: “For many restaurant workers, fair conditions not on menu”, an editorial published in February, 2014 by The Boston Globe, reveals the author’s use of classic rhetorical appeals to be heavily supported with facts, including focused logos arguments. “For many restaurant workers, fair conditions not on menu” is a Boston Globe editorial published in February 2014 by author/editor Kathleen Kingsbury. Kingsbury is a Pulitzer prize winning author and is currently the deputy managing editor (The Boston Globe). “For many restaurant workers, fair conditions not on menu” aims to inform the reader of the hardships that minimum wage restaurant workers in the United States have to face and steps that could be taken to solve these issues. The article focuses in on the wage gap,
On average a worker would make a few dollars a week, which lead a factory worker from Texas to write President Roosevelt, “ I can’t see for my life President why a man must toil & work his life out in Such factories 10 long hours ever day except Sunday for a small sum of 15 cents to 35 cents per hour & pay the high cost of honest & deason living expences,” (pg 171). This reality of people working for nothing needed to come to a conclusion. In order for the people to receive a higher hourly wage the government needs to implement a law that dictates the minimum amount of money a worker gets paid hourly. This amount needs to be determined based on the cost of living, and in order to prevent people from working for little to nothing in the future it needs to fluctuate with the cost of living. Owners of factories and other business will be upset and not follow the law, and that is why the government will need to be strict and enforce this minimum wage law.
In his article “Elitist Arrogance,” Walter Williams discusses the effects that setting the minimum wage at fifteen dollars an hour would have on African American and low-skill workers. He states that during the 40s and 50s, more African American teens were active in the labor market and employed than white teens. Today, however, more white teens are employed and active in the labor market than black teens, and Walter believes that this is because higher minimum wages have caused companies to discriminate against low-skill workers, which is largely represented by African American teens. Minimum wage is a good policy that the Department of Labor has every right to enforce in every state. Setting a minimum wage attempts to assure that citizens will not be totally taken advantage of in the workforce.
In the article, “Minimum Wage Hikes Hurt Low-Income Workers,” Jame Sherk debates how an increase in the minimum wage would impact workers and corporations. Sherk builds his argument by first explaining the recent history of an increasing minimum wage and how much it has risen. Following, he argues why it would hurt businesses and low-income workers. Lastly, after illustrating the consequences, he offers statistical evidence to support his claim and to prove to the reader why the hike would only hurt both businesses and low-income workers. Sherk’s use of evidence and explanation offers a strong argument and a clear stance.
In 2013, an estimated 12% of workingwomen would have benefited from a one-dollar increase in minimum wage. A disproportionate portion of minorities would benefit from a minimum wage increase. African Americans represent 12% of the total work force, but are 18% of workers affected by an incrementation. Similarly, 11% of the total work force is Hispanic, but Hispanics are 14% of workers affected by an incrementation. In 12013, a moiety of the benefits of a minimum wage increase would have gone to workers in households with an annual income of less than $35,000.
those who are responsible for the poverty many Americans live. The government must determine how much to increase the minimum wage; if they decide to increase it at all. Leading the struggle for increased minimum wages are the fast food workers of America, each with their own personal stories of struggle and reasons they must depend on a food service job, paying these meager wages, to provide for their family. As David Neumark states, “Since its enactment, there has been widespread debate about the merits of minimum wage laws, along with numerous efforts to evaluate their economic effects” (55). I seek to show the value of a significant minimum wage increase and the effects it will have, not only on fast food worker’s lives, but the good it could have on the US economy.
A minimum wage increase from “$7.25 to $10.10 would result in a loss of 500,000 jobs”. ("The Effects of Minimum-Wage Increase on Employment and Family Income”) This claim is better because it shows how raising the minimum wage will decrease job growth instead of increasing it. But, the minimum wage should be increased because increasing will also increase economic activity and spur job growth, decrease poverty, and improvements in productivity and economic growth have outpaced increases in the minimum
This political cartoon was made in late the 1920s, during the Great Depression. The unknown author made the cartoon to show his support for President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his ability to build the economy using his reforms known as the New Deal to build the economy after the fall of the market. This cartoon uses several different strategies to try and persuade the media to also side with FDR. This includes the strategies of symbols, accuracy bias and propaganda. He puts all of FDR 's domestic programs (excluding “BANK LEGISLATION”) on the ace cards, symbolizing that the reforms he used to rebuild the economy were the best “cards” FDR could play.
Many politicians, business owners, and citizens hold fast to the belief that heightening the salary attached to minimum wage positions will yield negative benefits for our society. This opinion is supported by three vital view-points. The first can be found in the news article, “The Argument Against Raising Minimum Wage.” It expresses how the enlargement of this payment will take a toll on employment. The document reasons that if the amount of money employees earn is expanded, companies will be less likely to hire as many workers (Huppke).
America today is faced with its fair share of problems. There are low employment rates, debt, and inflation everywhere, riddling the economy with issues. There is absolutely no reason that any American citizen should want to pile upon the problem. Yet, some believe that it could be done by raising the federal minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour. Fortunately, history, economics, and common sense prove the minimum wage raise proposition wrong.