Minimum Wage Information
Reece Block
Fact #1
Correctly adjusted for inflation, the minimum wage currently stands above its historical average since 1950.
Fact #2
10 states annually increase their state minimum to keep up with the rising cost of living
Real Minimum Wage Value
Hours Worked to Afford Rent by State
Minimum Wage Population Breakdown
Fact #3
Half of all minimum wage workers are 16 to 24 years old.
Fact #4
Smith, an alderman in Chicago, presented posters at a city council meeting showing that Walmart CEO Michael Duke's $35 million salary, when converted to an hourly wage, worked out to $16,826.92. By comparison, at a Walmart store planned for the Windy City's Pullman neighborhood, new employees to be paid $8.75 an hour would gross $13,650 a year.
Opinion on Minimum Wage
I feel that minimum wage should be raised based off of certain industries. I fully understand how some companies with local owners cannot afford to pay their employees more than minimum wage. But something isn't right when corporate CEO's are making more in one hour than an employee makes all year. In that circumstance the employees should be paid more than minimum wage. At the same time there are some companies that the owner pays their employees before they can even make a decent salary. There has to be a happy medium found in between these two extremes.
Video Response
I think the most shocking fact was the hospital bill. It is one of those things that kids our age would never think of. The video also shows how once you start with nothing, its hard to build something off of it. It is sort of a never ending cycle, there is always something new that comes up and consumes your small paycheck.
Works Cited
http://www.heritage.org/research/factsheets/2014/01/facts-about-the-minimum-wage
http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Economy/10-Facts-About-the-Minimum-Wage
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/01/05/7-Minimum-Wage-Facts-That-Have-Democrats-Worried
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/walmart-ceo-pay-hour-workers-year/story?id=11067470