Check This Out Blog - Minimum Wage - Sarah Seeliger

Rising Minimum Wage 

The article I read was about how Seattle raised its minimum wage from $9 to $15 an hour. It talked about how dignity and morale of workers were boosted because of higher wages. Seattle's law said that the minimum wage gradually increased each year starting in 2014 so that it will reach $15 dollars an hour by 2021. There were two studies done on the effects of raising the minimum wage; one was done in 2017 by the University of Washington, and the other one was done by the University of California, Berkley. The University of Washington study found that while the minimum wage went up, the number of hours people worked went down, which resulted in less pay for low-wage workers. A follow-up, however, said that experienced low-wage workers saw their earnings rise. The study at UC Berkley in 2018 showed that increased pay hadn't led to job losses. The article said that there wasn't a consensus among economists regarding raising the minimum wage. 

I think that raising the minimum wage would be a good idea because it would raise the quality of life for people that work in low-wage jobs, and like the article said, it would make people in these jobs feel more confident. I do think it can be harmful to some businesses though because of the fact that since costs for things like rent and food are rising, it could force some businesses to close.

Article Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/02/seattle-passed-a-15-minimum-wage-law-in-2014-heres-how-its-turned-out-so-far.html

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