By Brandi Miller, staff reporter.
As of right now, minimum wage in Michigan is $8.50. Recently, a bill was passed that announced adequate income will gradually raise to $9.25 by 2018. It’s exciting to hear that my check will be bigger, but with that comes repercussions. Begging the question, is raising minimum wage really worth it? In my opinion, minimum wage should not be raised.
Raising minimum wage increases not only paychecks, but the cost of living. Along with making more, you’ll have to spend more too. The cost of living will continue to rise along with base pay. Raising minimum wage doesn’t mean extra money, it means paying more for your house, car, groceries, etc.
Most teenagers and adults in their early 20s are working entry level jobs and making minimum wage. Younger people with few responsibilities may see it as an opportunity for more spending money. Yet again, with base pay rising, goods and services will also be pricier. Even people who don’t have many bills are losing out.
Minimum wage has been raised in the past to help people in poverty find a way out of poverty. Turns out, it wasn’t too helpful. Technically, the people in poverty have a larger amount on their checks but they don’t make more because the cost of living went up around them. Making the people in poverty stay in poverty.
I don’t see a point in raising minimum wage to $9.25. There are no added benefits to help anyone making minimum wage out. The cost of living will go up making the raised base pay worthless. I receive minimum wage, and $8.50 sounds like a good amount to me.
By Jessica Sierocki, photo editor.
Minimum wage has been making a slow, steady rise these past few years, and is expected to reach $9.25 an hour by 2018. But, is that really what we need? In my honest opinion, I don’t think the rate needs to go any higher. Minimum wage jobs are not worth more than $8.50 an hour.
Truthfully, minimum wage jobs are super important. These jobs are great for younger people like high schoolers and college students to gain working experience to help further their future careers. That being said, I am a firm believer that anyone could work at a minimum wage job. Most of the time, the only requirement would be a high school diploma and some experience. The skills needed for minimum wage jobs are skills that are learned on the job.
There are some positions, from managers all the way to CEOs of a company, who have more responsibilities, and therefore, deserve to get paid more than lower level employees.
Now, don’t bite my head off. I worked at a job for three years and never got a raise. But was I mad? Absolutely not. When I look at all of the work I did, $8 an hour seemed an appropriate amount. I worked hard, but the work itself was not overly difficult. In fact, I was basically being paid to enjoy myself because it was so fun.
Nonetheless, I do get that getting paid minimum wage is not enough money to live off of. I also understand that the economy is rough, and that it’s difficult for people to find a career that will pay them well, even if they have a degree. However, when thinking about this issue, you can’t look at the individual circumstances of the employee, but need to focus on job and what the job entails.
I think $8.50 an hour is a great hourly rate and it should stay that way. Any increases in pay should be a reflection of the worker going above and beyond with their work instead of being required by the state.