The establishment of the minimum wage in 1938 was the saving grace for many employees because it was the first time they legally had a minimal income. The Fair Labor Standards Act was passed enforcing the establishment and also stated employers were required to give an overtime salary. This was a significant turning point because poverty was such an issue at that time, and now at an all-time high today. The overt solution to the poverty issue for many Americans is to increase the minimum wage; however, it is misunderstood that increasing the wage will only make jobs more competitive and companies unable to hire as many people. Our country’s current mindset of minimum wage being directly connected to poverty is unhealthy, and we need to focus on more constructive ways to eliminate poverty. Allowing the federal minimum wage to remain the same would help poverty levels, help uneducated low skilled workers find jobs, and allow businesses to hire more employees by becoming less robotized.

Suggestions to increase the minimum wage have been very politically favored in the past because it is seen as a way to help the lower class, working citizens in danger of poverty. However, in a September 2017 article by the Southern Economic Journal, economic journalist’s Joseph J. Sabia and Richard V. Burkhauser understand that poverty is the ultimate issue and they state that increasing the minimum wage any further would only provide "little more than symbolic support”. Sabia and Burkhauser emphasize that the link between poverty and the minimum wage is "weak and has become weaker over time," and "while some low-skilled workers will remain employed, other low-skilled workers will lose their jobs or have their hours significantly cut” (Sabia and Burkhauser 592). Then using data from a current population survey, it is found that the “state and federal minimum wage increases between 2003 and 2007 had no effect on state poverty levels.” Furthermore, the survey states that if the minimum wage is increased from $7.25 to $9.50 “nearly 1.3 million jobs will be lost, including 168,000 of them being held by the working poor.” This along with everything else should be plenty of information to conclude that the federal minimum wage cannot fix the poverty issue and if anything, it will only make it worst. “Minimum Wages and Poverty” another article written by John T. Addison and McKinley L. Blackburn claims that minimum wage workers would be “unaffected by the change.” They go on to say, “as for workers earning between the old and new minimum, the simulations assume their wages are increased to the new minimum,” meaning that the work force will adjust to the new wage and we will repeat the process again (Addison and Blackburn 385). The minimum wage has been debated on for so long because every time it has been increased it in the past it eventually proves to be ineffective. Black, Latins, and women are the ones who make up most of the minimum wage workers and many people believe an equal opportunity program should be made. Daniel R. Fusfeld in his article “A Living Wage,” explains how the equal opportunity program would “imply a redistribution of income in favor of the low wage workers.” One may argue that we don’t increase the minimum wage any further because it will just make the situation more complicated, and then we can focus on more progressive ways to help defeat poverty. 

On another note, the ones who determine who and how many will be employed are the business owners. Recent article, “The Effects of the Minimum Wage: A Business Response” in the Journal of Economic Issues, Oren M. Levin-Waldman gives his opinion of the minimum wage in respective of a business viewpoint. He notes that a raise in the minimum wage would not only force small businesses to “employ only half of their private sector employees,” but other costs such as “hiring practices and other factors are likely to affect them” in the future (Waldman 723). Based on a small business survey that collected data from the most recent minimum wage increase, Waldman claims the Food and retail industries would be impacted the most if there was an increase in the wage and “the firms that would be affected more than doubles in these industries.” He also states that even the companies who said they were not affected by most recent increase in the minimum wage, they all agree that “there are still limits to how much the minimum wage can be increased” (Waldman 726). In another article by Oren M. Levin-Waldman called “The Minimum Wage can be Raised,” Waldman continues his debates from a small business aspect describing how there will be a “tipping point” where the minimum wage will become too high. He says that if the tipping point is almost reached now at $7.25, “the argument against raising the minimum wage becomes even stronger” (Waldman 91). William R. Johnson and Edgar K. Browning do a great job of explaining the initial goals of the minimum wage and the current progress of those goals in their article “The Distributional and Efficiency Effects of Increasing the Minimum Wage,” in The American Economic Review. He states that the initial goal of the minimum wage was to distribute income differently in favor of the lower-class workers. However, it cause there to be “inefficiency and imposing costs on some of the same workers the law was intended to help.” From a business aspect, it is proven that an increase in the minimum wage will only lead to the layoff of numerous entry level jobs and unemployment rates increasing.

Another important part of the Federal minimum wage debate that we seem to look over sometimes, is the duration of minimum wage workers employment. In a Southern Economic Journal article titled “The Wage and Employment Dynamics of Minimum Wage Workers,” William E. Even and David A. Macpherson talk about the importance of their duration of their employment and the effect that would have on the number of jobs available. They explain that although many workers develop skills that will eventually boost them above the minimum wage, “most minimum wage workers find themselves in dead end jobs that provide no opportunity for wage growth.” They go onto state that the majority of the minimum wage workers will be “stuck at the minimum,” and that the “less educated workers and part-time workers” are more likely to stay at the bottom (Even and Macpherson 676). This is a very important part of this argument because a raise in the minimum wage would only increase the number of employees stuck earning the wage. Thus, making the struggle to be hired for these jobs even more competitive and forcing many people into poverty. Even and Macpherson then note that an alternative to raising the minimum wage could be increasing the quality of on-the-job training, which would help workers develop skills to make their way above the wage. He argues that an increase in the minimum wage now “could actually increase the price of employer provided training,” making the process of hiring less educated and part-time workers even more expensive, and taking away jobs. However, they also examine ways for minimum wage workers to have raise their salaries saying, “job training, job switching, and changes in network conditions” are all good ways (Even and Macpherson 677). However, one thing that almost all analysts can agree on is that an increase in the minimum wage will conclude in the unemployment of those with the least experience: teenagers. Thomas Gale Moore a respected author and professor from Michigan State, helps explain the details that go into teenage unemployment rates in his article “The Effect of Minimum Wages on Teenage Unemployment Rates,” in the Journal of Political Economy. He explains that if the minimum wage would be raised, “the impact would be felt most strongly be the unskilled, the unexperienced, and those facing discrimination” (Moore 898). This meaning that teenagers, especially the nonwhite, will be the ones effected the most when the minimum wage is increased. Nonetheless, a "substitution of capital and skilled labor for the unskilled" will occur, resulting in the unemployment of many teenagers because of their low experience (Moore 902). It is also valuable to point out that by the time most teenagers reach their mid-twenties, the minimum wage fails to have any effect. Meaning that by this time they have acquired some form of experience, maybe being a degree or social status, making the minimum wage only a burden for them. 

On the contrary, many researchers believe an increase in the minimum wage will give hard working citizens the pay raise that they deserve, and allow them to earn a favorable income and increase their job opportunities. Charles C. Fischer, a well-respected supporter of the minimum wage, helps us understand his beliefs in his article “In Defense if the Minimum Wage,” in the Journal of Economic Issues.  He describes increasing the minimum wage as “a two-sided mountain, having both negative and positive effects.” He is implying that neither side has the ability to solve the problem because they both still have negative effects (Fischer 261). He also adds that “higher minimums increase the wages of workers farther up the pay scale: that is, wages on the same wage contour tend to move together,” and he uses valid research to back his claims. Nonetheless, no matter how much more the minimum wage increases the “employment levels are primarily determined by how business is producing and selling,” and as long as they have the desire to stay in business, they will find a way to adapt to an increase in the minimum wage (Fischer 263). Dwight R. Lee from the University of Georgia writes about the pros and cons for each side of this debate, emphasizing that the pros from increasing the minimum wage have been overlooked. He describes the minimum wage as “government’s promise that low productivity workers will receive in their hourly compensation,” and he believes that we should have enough trust in our government that they will keep their promise. He speaks about how the minimum wage would be a lot more efficient that we believe, however; “it is less likely to help low income workers than proponents believe” (Lee 56). My argument is that increasing the minimum wage seems to be an effective to for helping low income workers, however; most people who support a raise in the wage do not realize the overwhelming number of people who will lose their jobs. 

I do not believe the federal minimum wage should be increased because it will help the poverty levels, help teenagers and low-skilled workers find their place in the workforce, and help our small businesses to become less robotized and hire more employees. The minimum wage was created to give hard working citizens the pay they deserve, however; increasing the minimum wage any further will only lead to jobs being taking away from those workers. Although the minimum wage debate will continue to be an issue for the future, as a society it is important that we do our part and advance in our careers to the best of our abilities. The people of our nation and their well-being is certainly our number one priority, and at some point we need to find better solutions for the larger issues involving poverty in the future. 
