Help with minimum wage debate?

Question

I have been tasked with debating the minimum wage issue. I am supposed to argue in favor of raising it to at least $10/hr. Here are the arguments I have developed. What I'm looking for is for you to refute these points as best you can, so that I can better prepare for the rebuttals that my opposition is likely to use.

1) Currently, there are many who are risking their futures and lives by selling illegal drugs. Why? It pays more than min. wage jobs. If we raise min. wage, such people are less likely to take such risks if min. wage jobs pay a living wage.

2) Many min. wage workers are using government aid because min. wage isn't a living wage. It is not fair to the American people to be paying to keep the lives of min. wage workers above the waves. The cost of goods may go up slightly, but at least this way it's the consumers, and not all the taxpayers footing the bill.

3) If the low income are making more money, they will spend more, since they don't tend to invest or save. That will help stimulate the economy.

4) The rich have received raises over the past years, yet the min. wage has not increased at the rate of inflation. The rich have also received significant tax cuts in the past 10 years.

5) This is more of a rebuttal that I may use....While it is true that companies (i.e. McDonalds) will now have an incentive to mechanize their operations, that's happening regardless. That is the downside of advancing technology.

Answer 1

Your arguments are good ones. I will comment on them by number.



1. Selling drugs will ALWAYS pay more than a min. wage job. The hope is that with a living wage fewer people will feel -forced- to sell drugs, or prostitution or whatever. That just makes sense.



2. This is true! It's estimated that Wal Mart costs us something like $5k-10k per employee in govt. benefits THEY should supply! In fact Wal Mart would fail without these bennies for their employees because they couldn't afford to work for what Wal Mart pays them! In effect govt. social welfare programs are a SUBSIDY to Wal Mart!



3. This is really one of the most important points! Every time we raise the min. wage, Republicans say it will hurt the economy. But every time it actually stimulates the economy, because people have more money to spend! This is not speculation, it's a matter of proven history.



4. If the minimum wage in the US had kept pace with the compensation of Fortune 500 execs, the min. wage in the US today would be around $50/hr! Giving rich people more money doesn't stimulate the economy! This is one reason it's so hard to keep the economy growing today! And it's one good reason why the economy always fails under Republican presidents.



5. The reason people are working at McDonald's in the first place is that we exported all our good-paying manufacturing jobs to become a 'service economy'. Fast food jobs are among the few categories that can't be exported! McDonalds in Europe has to pay around $15/hr, but there still are McDonalds in Europe and they still make a profit. The CEO of McDonalds said a $15/hr min. wage would force them to raise the cost of a Big Mac by 15 cents! I'd happily pay another 15 cents!



And you're right, if they could figure out a way to cut labor costs, they'd do it no matter what labor costed!



When I was a debater in college we collected news articles and quotes to back up our points. We'd go into a debate with a big box of 3x5 cards with the cites to back up our assertions. If you did this, you'd find that all the actual facts and evidence were on your side. All the other side would have are opinions and speculation and GOP slogans! For instance, they'd give you the old saw about costs rising and causing unemployment and inflation, but you'd have the actual figures from previous min. wage increases to show this is just not true!

Answer 2

1: Most of the people selling drugs are either making significantly more money or have no desire to obtain a job in the first place.



2:The level of pay that would be needed is significantly higher than the proposed increase could truly cover. They would need to make around 14 to 15 dollars per hour to have a living wage to take them off welfare.



3:This is too much of a generalization. Not every person on minimum wage spends it all. Often they spend more on healthcare, vehicles, daycare, ect. due to the fact they dont have the needed funds for maintenance and preventative care.



4:Many minimum wage workers pay little or no federal income tax and recieve many benefits such as tax credits, and increses due to being low income parents.



5: Most service industry jobs can only be streamlined so much. Many businesses are using employee pools where they use less employees for more hours at different locations. they offset the lack of per hour wage growth by offering more hours

Answer 3

Raising the minimum wage isn't entirely beneficial. It could potentially lead to more unemployment as some businesses may reduce their number of employees or reduce their hours in order to offset the cost of paying a higher minimum wage. Some may also increase the prices of products or services offered. It can also possibly lead to a decreased interest in college education since minimum wage jobs are paid almost the same or can be more than what jobs requiring college education pay.



On the bright side, there is greater purchasing power for workers with the revenue going back to businesses they patronize and products or services they avail of or purchase. They may be able to afford more in terms of living expenses and other expenditures like mortgage, bills, education, etc.



In relation to the minimum wage issue, here's a list of interesting articles, http://bitly.com/1geGNXP.

Answer 4

1) The buying and selling of illegal drugs aren't exclusive to poor communities; therefore, the premise of that argument is flawed.



2) If it is unfair for taxpayers to be subsidizing government aid, the solution is to get rid of those entitlement programs altogether regardless of what the minimum wage is.



3) Even if the minimum wage were raised to say $15 per month, who's to say that low-income people will then be able to get a job? How will they spend and stimulate the economy without employment?



4) The raises the rich received weren't as a direct result of government fiat. That argument is therefore non-sequitur.



5) Except for data which shows that many fast food franchises automate and cut hours in jurisdictions which have already raised the minimum wage via an ordinance (for example, Seattle).

Answer 5

I wouldn't use 'the rich' in your argument. Has nothing to do with minimum wage.....What do you think will happen to the prices at Mc Donalds and Walmart if min. wage increases... The real argument is that minimum wage jobs are for high school and summer jobs. NOT for a career or to raise a family. Only under Obama has it become that.

Answer 6

Ouch, you made my brain hurt. Other than your first argument I happen to agree with everything else you said. Anyway I hope this helps I did my best to think like the opposition without trying to sound too much like some right wing robot. Good luck with your debate!

1) Selling drugs is a high risk high profit enterprise such a small increase in minimum wage would not significantly impact the number of drugs dealers, you might reduce the numbers selling so weed on the side for extra cash but as far as dealers who do it for a living their decisions aren't effected by the minimum wage as much as you think.

2) It is not the job of either business or government to ensure that people are lifted out of poverty, if we want to spend less on government benefits/entitlements all we need to do is cut funding for the programs that provide them. People are responsible for themselves and if they want a better life they should find a way to lift themselves out of poverty.

3) There is no guarantee the money would be spent this way, you also need to consider the negative impact of the increased to cost of goods as well as the potential stagnation or overall decrease in employment numbers if companies choose to reduce the workforce iin order to handle the costs of a minimum wage increase.

4) The rich are the ones who create the jobs, that is why they get the benefits. By lowering the cost to do business it allows for the wealthy to create even more jobs which will lower unemployment and lead to an improvement in the standard of living for the working class.

5) While mechanization may be inevitable there is no reason we should artificially speed it up, this will only lead to a faster increase in unemployment.



Edit: Other points you may want to use to help your argument.

1) Increased wages will also cause an increase in income tax collected helping to fill budget gaps.

2) While not specific to drug dealers an increase in the minimum wage should help to create an overall decrease in crime.

3) Increasing wages will help make it easier for low wage earners to either return to school or be able to send their children to college helping to break the cycle of poverty.

If there is anything else I can think of I will update this post. Once again good luck!

Answer 7

It hurts small businesses. By raising the wage, small businesses on a limited budget are forced to either raise prices on goods, go out of business, or let employees go. I do think the minimum wage could be raised, just not any higher than 8 dollars right now. Likewise, if politicians would do their jobs and enforce the laws to keep illegals out of our nation, then employers would be forced to raise employee wages in order to get people to do things like wash dishes. But since illegals are willing to wash dishes for 5 bucks an hour under the table then what is the point? It short circuits our system and should not be tolerated.

Answer 8

If a company's wages are not set at living wage standards then that company should pay the taxpayer back when an employee qualifies for welfare and other social services. And there should also be a penalty assessed against that company.



We taxpayers greatly improve WalMart's bottom line in that way. Because Walmart's employees do indeed receive a living wage. Part is paid by Walmart and the other by us taxpayers. Why do we let them get away with it?

Answer 9

minimum wage is good for the economy

Answer 10

Liberal arguments in favor of raising the minimum wage to at least $10/hr.



1. To increase youth unemployment, making under employed adults more attractive to employers.



2. To give more American jobs to illegal aliens. Employers will be more likely to hire illegals to avoid paying the high cost of the min. wage.



3. To increase low-skilled labor automation. Automated machines will be much more popular for business owners.



4. To move more entry level jobs overseas, giving first time job seekers more time to study.



5. To increase journeyman pay and union dues, so political donations from Big Labor to the Democrat party increases.



Now if raising the min. wage to $10.00 hr. is good for the economy, than raising the min. wage to $20.00 hr. should be even better for the economy.



If the min. wage is too low why are labor unions asking to be exempted from the min. wage?



L.A. labor leaders seek minimum wage exemption for firms with union workers

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-los-angeles-minimum-wage-unions-20150526-story.html



Warren Buffett: Stop Blaming The Rich For Income Inequality.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/janetnovack/2015/05/22/warren-buffett-wants-a-bigger-eitc-and-so-do-the-identity-thieves/



Minimum Wage Hike Closes San Francisco Bookstore

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/minimum-wage-hike-closes-san-213700882.html

Answer 11

the min wage has far exceeded the rate of inflation



if the min wage had been increased for inflation since it was started



the min wage today would be$4.60 an hour --- not 7.25

Answer 12

Nobody can refute #3. Make that the kingpin of your argument.

Answer 13

You are in trouble.