Students will write a formal policy memo to a current legislator on the policy you discussed in Section Two. The purpose is to inform a legislator of a social work position on the policy. Th

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The Minimum Wage Policy

Shanae Hampton

SWK 520

Cal Baptist University

February 12, 2023

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Policy: Increasing the minimum wage

The federal government passed the minimum wage law indicating the minimum

amount a worker should be paid in the United States. According to Waltman (2000), the

minimum wage provides employees with a ground from which they should argue their pay.

The current minimum wage in the U.S. is $7.25 per hour. Employers use different methods to

calculate employees' wages per hour or day. The minimum wage is meant to protect

individuals who are desperate for jobs from exploitation by employers. The minimum wage is

important in the labor market as it provides the least figure at which workers should be

willing to offer their labor. The main goal of the minimum wage is to improve living

standards for families living in poverty and reduce the income inequality gap.

The term "minimum wage" dates back to the 1890s when countries such as Australia,

the UK, and the U.S. were finding ways of paying workers in the industries. In the 1900s, the

minimum wage policy spread to all the states in America and was used to determine the

minimum amount workers should be paid. Newmark and Wascher (2008) assert that the

minimum wage was introduced in the U.S. to control greedy employers who provided low

wages to employees. The opening federal minimum wage was introduced in the National

Industrial Recovery Act of 1933. President Roosevelt Franklin signed it into law, but it was

later declared unconstitutional. In 1938, it was corrected and set at $0.25 per hour under the

Fair Labor Standards Act. The minimum wage helped the government to secure fair pay for

all employees, especially unskilled workers. Since then, this policy has been widely accepted,

and experts believe increasing the minimum wage will reduce income inequality.

The policy focuses on low-income earners living in poverty. Many economists have

proposed increasing the minimum wage to $20 and linking it with the increase in the median

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wage. This strategy will ensure the value of the minimum wage amount does not erode over

time. According to Scott (2020, p.1), this increase will lift over 4 million workers from

poverty and raise payment for over 30 million laborers directly and indirectly. A modest raise

will motivate workers to produce, increase employment rates, and ensure poor Americans

live above the poverty threshold.

Increasing the minimum wage aligns with God’s teachings on fairness and equality.

The call for just is everywhere in the old and new testaments. The Bible teaches that we

should be fair and treat others how we would love to be treated. "Give justice to the weak and

the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute” (Psalm, 82:3). God

provides all the resources we enjoy on earth, and it is essential to share them equally.

Therefore, increasing the minimum wage will reduce income inequality according to God's

will. It will improve the living standards of low-income earners and reduce societal injustices.

The federal government administers the minimum wage policy. The U.S. Department

of Labor is mandated to enforce the minimum wage. This responsibility is carried out by the

wage and hour division, which employs enforcement and public education strategies to

implement the minimum wage law. However, some states have set and increased their

minimum wage, and they have state agencies and departments that administer this policy.

Social justice is among the top values of the National Association of Social Workers

(NASW), and among the goals of this organization is to challenge social injustices in society.

Among the roles performed by social workers include advocating for vulnerable and

oppressed groups. “Social workers’ social change efforts are focused primarily on issues of

poverty, unemployment, discrimination, and other forms of social injustice” (NASW.org).

Therefore, this policy aligns with the NASW code of ethics. Social workers have been on the

frontline advocating for the implementation of a higher minimum wage. The advocacy aims

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to ensure families thriving in poverty have improved living standards and can afford basic

human needs.

The minimum wage has been critiqued and associated with increased unemployment.

According to economists, the minimum wage hurts people's ability to access employment and

maintain their jobs. It has made it difficult for families with more than three members to

surpass the federal poverty threshold. "Today, the federal minimum of $7.25 leaves an adult

with two children thousands of dollars below the federal poverty threshold" (Scott, 2020).

Most economists have indicated that this is unacceptable in an economy aiming to improve

people's living standards. According to Rotenberg (2009), the effect is felt by employees and

employers who experience challenges creating employment. The labor market is highly

competitive, and the demand for labor is high. This makes it hard for people to accept jobs

that pay low wages, which increases unemployment.

The critiques and opposers of the federal minimum wage are the main barriers to its

implementation. Experts argue that the minimum wage increases unemployment rates and

high employment bias levels. Research conducted by Gertner, Rotter, and Shafer (2019)

indicates that minimum wage is among the economic policies that are leading to financial

distress in the U.S., and this explains the high suicide rates that have been experienced over

the last few years. Such resistance will hinder the implementation of the policy.

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References

Bible, N. R. S. V. (1989). New revised standard version Bible.

Gertner, A. K., Rotter, J. S., & Shafer, P. R. (2019). Association between state minimum

wages and suicide rates in the US. American journal of preventive medicine, 56(5),

648-654.

NASW.org. Code of Ethics.

https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English

Neumark, D., & Wascher, W. L. (2008). Minimum Wages. Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts

Institute of Technology Press.

Rottenberg, S. (2009). The economics of legal minimum wages. American Enterprise

Institute for Public Policy Research.

Scott, R. C. (2020). Raising the minimum wage: Good for workers, businesses, and the

economy. Fact Sheet: Committee on Education & the Workforce Democrats.

Waltman, J. L. (2000). The politics of the minimum wage. University of Illinois Press.