Most studets have jobs whether they are during the summer or after school. With the current minimum wage at $7.25, there is much to be desired for those using their jobs as ways to make ends meet for their families. However, by the year 2015, the minimum wage may take an increase to $9, as proposed by President Barack Obama in his 2013 State of the Union address.
Although Obama proposed a similar idea in 2008, in which he would increase the minimum wage to $9.50 by the year 2011, his most recent push for higher salaries is greatly influenced by the nation’s current economic state. With an increase in poverty rates and an existent unemployment rate, it seems as though Obama has hit his breaking point.
This possible increase in hourly wage could directly benefit our economic status at AHS as many students work in order to support their families or pay for college. Many students rely on their jobs to not only fulfill their personal wants, but to help pay for necessities such as water and utility bills to ease the pressure on their parents. With most of AHS’s population coming from foreign countries, many depend on this minimum wage paycheck to help with their family’s survival as they adjust to the ways of the U.S. In a recent survey conducted by The A-Blast, over 12 percent of our school said that they use 21 to 30 percent of their paycheck for utilities in their homes. On top of this, the ever-developing recession is putting more responsibility on students to pay for their own hobbies and accessories.
Ever since freshman year, I have been working at Grasshopper Green Daycare everyday after school, using my paycheck to pay for items such as my cellphone, car and future college payments. With a paycheck that does not appropriately represent the amount of work I put into my job, this $1.75 increase could, surprisingly release a heavy burden off of my back on a bi-weekly basis.
If Obama successfully increases the minimum wage, the economy could also begin to take a toll for the better.
“One of the best ways to get the economy going again is to put money in the pockets of people who work, who will spend it at small businesses in their communities,” Christine L. Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, said. “A minimum wage increase will stimulate consumer demand and help drive economic growth for the people who most need it in America – workers.”
If you direct her words at high school students, these students will have more money in their pockets, and will be more likely to spend these paychecks in their communities at places such as malls and restaurants. With this increased circulation of currency throughout businesses, the ability for our current recession to dissipate would be within reach.
This same proposal, as revealed by the Obama administration, says that as the price of living increases, the minimum wage would also increase, allowing an appropriate balance of spending and receiving within the economy. This would also benefit the AHS community as many students are forced to move to particular areas when the price of living becomes too high.
Looking at this proposal from a political standpoint, our economy is very behind in regards to the current minimum wage. Over the past forty years, the value of the minimum wage made a slight upward trend but, with the negative effects of inflation over the past few decades, the current minimum wage should be around $10.59. Basically, Americans are being cheated out of their well-deserved money and this increase in salaries is more important now than ever before.
With 19 states that have already raised their minimum wage, including D.C., above the federal level of $7.25, it only makes sense that the entire country follow along with this trend and increase the minimum wage all over the U.S.
Teenagers, and adults alike, all need Obama’s proposal to become a reality in order to ease the financial stresses of everyday life. Even for those students that have few to no financial burdens in their lives, an increase in the minimum wage could allow for extra spending money in their pockets.
