The Minimum Wage is Bad - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1582 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2019/04/16 Category Law Essay Level High school Tags: Minimum Wage Essay Did you like this example? The Minimum Wage is Bad The state of Arkansas this past November on the voting ballot was the choice for citizens to vote for the raising of the minimum wage to $11.00/hr over the next three years. At first glance, someone might think that this is a rewarding change but when taking a deeper look into the subject, it will reveal a lot of consequences that will cause a lot of trouble over time. Cost of living is going to rise, businesses will be less likely to hire when needed, unemployment numbers will rise and simple things such as a hamburger at McDonalds will go up.. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Minimum Wage is Bad" essay for you Create order Currently the minimum wage in the southern United States averages around $8.00/hr.(LaborLawCenter) This is the reason housing is so much cheaper in the south than living in California where the minimum wage is $12.00 or New York where it is $11.00. Now imagine this, Arkansas having the same minimum wage as New York. There are four major entities that affect cost of living; housing, taxes, healthcare, food. The average rent for a 1,000 sq.ft. apartment is roughly $3500 where the same size apartment will run you around $800 in Arkansas (RentCafe.com). Housing cost 379% more in New York when compared to Arkansas. Health insurance rates will skyrocket as well. The average health insurance for Arkansas is right around $2800 (Valuepenguin.com) with New York coming in over double the price with at $6800.(Empirecenter.org) When businesses raise a minimum wage, theyre also having to give raises to the employees who make more than minimum wage. Who wants to go to a four-year school, spend thousands of dollars for classes and then come out making $15/hr for a nursing job when they could go flip burgers at the local burger joint for $11 and not be liable for someones life? When employees get raises, then the cost of goods rise as well affecting the overall cost of living. Along with cost of living going up, there will be a rise in the unemployment rate as well. It is simple economics when it comes to this aspect of raising the minimum wage. Non-skilled labor jobs are easy to come by. An employer will pay X amount to this position. When the wage gets over that threshold, the employer will be less likely to hire for this position. What this equals is that position going away altogether, instead of being paid a lower wage. Now that job along with the services it provided are gone. Economist Richard Vedder quotes If the price of something rises, people buy less of it including labor. Thus governmental interferences such as minimum-wage laws lower the quantity of labor demanded. What he is saying is basically clarifying what is written above. On February 2017, Wendys CEO Bob Wright states there is a 4% increase in wages across the board in his company. First, they could cut margins, but with an 8% margin, thats unlikely. The second option is to raise prices. Given how price-sensitive consumers are these days, that too is a non-starter. Finally, the firm could reduce the amount of labor they use and thats exactly what they did. Wendys eliminated 31 hours of labor per location, per week.(businessinsider.com) Now, the whole purpose of raising the minimum wage was really aimed at this market of employees which are the non-skilled jobs. Well, now that they have cut hours but the business is open so what now. Wendys CIO David Trimm states they will be installing automated ordering kiosk into 16% of their stores by the end of 2017 and their machines would pay off in a two year time frame because of the savings by reducing wages. Wendys is not the only one going to the automated route. McDonalds is going the automated route also specifically in the New York and Seattle Markets.(businessinsider.com) Why those markets? Because they have some of the highest minimum wages in the nation. As long as states continue to raise minimum wage, these low skilled jobs will be killed off. In a survey of 1,213 businesses and human resources professionals, 38% of employers who currently pay minimum wage said they would lay off some employees if the minimum wage was raised to $10.10.(https://minimum-wage.procon.org) Thats not even $11.00 an hour or an even higher wage as some think it should be. Taking an educated guess, that number would be pushing 50% at $11.00. If there is a company ten employees making minimum wage at $10.10, that is $404 a week. Going up to $11 would mean an additional $36 a week. Given that employee is full time and works a full forty hour work week. They would make an additional $1,872 a year for one employee. Now the company has ten employees, that is a humongous increase of nearly $19,000. Depending on the business, that could be the entire budget for the year. Now that company is having to layoff to afford to pay rent, utilities, and insurance on their building. For a small business paying ten high school kids $8.50/hr for 17 hours a week. That is $1,445 per week and $75,140 for the year. With the increase to $11/hr that yearly figure now goes up a whopping $22,100 for the year. The employer is going to cut hours and/or employees to get that cost back down to a manageable figure. Minimum wage jobs are aimed at students and young adults that are making money while furthering their education. 50.4% of all minimum wage jobs are held by kids and young adults aging from 16 24. Most employers are going to be less likely to hire a 16 year old high school student for $11/hr that they deem worthy of $8.50/hr. There is a catch phrase used commonly when talking about minimum wage and that is you cant raise a family on minimum wage Minimum wage is not designed to raise a family on. It was created in 1938 by President Roosevelt and was intended to deliver fair labor standards throughout the country(historynewsnetwork.org) The unemployment rate for ages 16-19 is roughly 20%, increasing the minimum wage is only going to make this number go up. A lot lower than other age groups proving that a high minimum wage is causing employers to not hire unskilled workers. In 2009 whe n Chicago raised their minimum wage, there was a 9% spike in teenage unemployment in three months. According to a study by Thomas A. Mroz, PhD, and Timothy H. Savage, PhD, for the Employment Policies Institute, those experiencing unemployment at an early age have years of lower earnings and an increased likelihood of unemployment ahead of them. Teenagers and young adults need jobs at their age to teach them life values like going to work when you really do not want to, getting along with co-workers when times are rough and the feeling of accomplishment of finishing a project or goal at a job. Without these, there would be a lot more unemployed teenagers which is only going to lead to higher crime rates and more unemployed adults. The last example of why a higher minimum wage is bad is the cost of goods will increase. Other than automation which was discussed earlier the establishment is going to pass the rising labor cost onto the consumer at a 100%. Higher wages in hotels are going to cause an increase in guest rooms and meeting rooms. A simple cup of coffee in Oakland, CA rose 10-20% when the rate was increased to $12.25. When the minimum wage was raised to $10 in Chicago, a cup of coffee jumped 6.7% (NBCNews.com). Hamburgers are either going to increase in price or the size of the patty is going to decrease to help offset the labor cost. In closing, there have been several examples discussed of why raising the minimum wage is not a great idea. It is not designed to live on nor provide for the family. It will only make the the low income individuals fall into poverty level income. It will push employers to either lay off workers or close up business completely. Teenagers are less likely to find work which will lead to higher dropout rates of school, higher crime rates and even more of a percentage of citizens unemployed and living in poverty followed by the skyrocketing of the cost of living in general. The minimum wage should be used as a floor of wages and utilized as a stepping stone in the workforce and not a way of living forever. Work Cited 2019 Minimum Wage Rates by State. Labor Law Education Center: Learn About Labor Laws in Your State, www.laborlawcenter.com/state-minimum-wage-rates/. Little Rock, AR Rental Market Trends. Apartments for Rent RENTCaf, www.rentcafe.com/average-rent-market-trends/us/ar/little-rock/. Cost of Living Comparison: Compare Spokane, Washington to Rancho San Diego, California, www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/little-rock-ar/new-york-ny/81000. NY Health Insurance Costs Surge. Empire Center for Public Policy, www.empirecenter.org/publications/new-yorks-health-insurance-costs-surge/. Kwak, James. The Curse of Econ 101. The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 14 Jan. 2017, www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/01/economism-and-the-minimum-wage/513155/. Research, Garret/Galland. Minimum Wage Hikes Are Causing Businesses to Cut Jobs. Business Insider, Business Insider, 16 Mar. 2017, www.businessinsider.com/minimum-wage-leads-to-job-losses-2017-3. Goddard, Alexander. Why Was the Minimum Wage First Established? History News Network, historynewsnetwork.org/article/164635. Flows, Capital. Lets Eliminate The Minimum Wage For Teenagers. Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 7 Apr. 2014, www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2014/04/07/lets-eliminate-the-minimum-wage-for-teenagers/#1a7ce3377255. The Long-Term Effects of Youth Unemployment. Employment Policies Institute, www.epionline.org/studies/r51/. Cost of Cup of Coffee Often Climbs After Minimum Wage Hikes. NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/cost-cup-coffee-climbs-after-minimum-wage-hikes-n394076.

Same sex marriage is one of the most controversial issues...

Same sex marriage is one of the most controversial issues happening in the world today. The time has come to think on a deeper level and grasp that a wedding is a ceremony to give ourselves to the one we love. These marriages can happen because we live in a great country that gives us personal freedom. In no other place are citizens promised justice and the pursuit of happiness, but, a growing percentage of our population is not fairly represented. Homosexual people deserve the same respect, dignity, love, and rights as anyone else. They should not be denied a formal relationship. It is in no way wrong to be gay and people do not recognize the extent of negativity gay or lesbian people must endure. America is the land of the free, but†¦show more content†¦If their spouse is in the hospital most medical decisions are not in the partner’s hands. Since gay marriage is not legal in most states one’s spouse is not recognized as their next of kin and care is delayed. When filing for health care or insurance gay couples are not able to add each other on. Should our government deny health care coverage that they would provide for those attracted to the â€Å"right† sex? There are other benefits to being married, such as tax breaks that these couples miss out on. Luckily, most cities plan Pride Parades put together every year to celebrate and announce their pride. The goal is to end discrimination and encourage gay marriage to become legalized. Gay marriage should be legalized because it is unmerited and undemocratic. Our civil rights and the Constitution give us many liberties such as the pursuit of happiness. This pursuit is hard for homosexual people to chase. They usually cannot be married to the person they love and it violates their freedoms. The 1st amendment of the Constitution states that a person’s religious beliefs or lack of must be protected. In a marriage the one thing that truly matters is love. 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I am Fortunes fool To what extent is Romeo a victim of fate Essay Example For Students

I am Fortunes fool To what extent is Romeo a victim of fate? Essay In the play Romeo and Juliet, which was written by William Shakespeare, fate plays a vital role as an amazing number of unlucky events happen to Romeo. By analysing the key themes, character dialogue and the structure of the play, I hope to find out to what extent Romeo is a victim of fate. In Shakespeares days, many Elizabethans had a strong belief that stars and star signs had a great impact on their destiny. The Elizabethans believed that fate existed in order to limit peoples ambitions and pride, and to maintain a sense of order in the world. Some people appear to be approaching a state of perfection; it is the role of fate to bring that individual down, to remind people that even the greatest human are below the Gods. Fate may be described as being envious or jealous of its own position. This was a very large part of the Elizabethans understanding of the universe that our lives were planned out before we were born. The major way of determining our destinies was by looking to the heavens. This relates to the play because Romeo and Juliet are called star crossd lovers and also when Romeo hears of Juliets death he says I defy you stars, this is extremely foolish of him because he is defying what the heavens have planned for him. As a result of this he immediately goes, without even thinking, to buy some poison and commit suicide. Romeo and Juliet experience numerous misfortunate events in the play, beginning with their meeting at the Capulets ball where the moment Romeo sets eyes on Juliet he completely erases Rosaline from his mind and falls in love with Juliet. Their love for each other grows fast in a very short amount of time but their families have an ancient grudge against each other so the love between them is forbidden. Their ancient grudge has gone on for many years and now its broken out into new mutiny. As Romeo and Juliets love progresses they start meeting in secret, as they do in Act 2 Scene 6, where they meet at Friar Lawrences cell so they can be wedded. This then affects Romeo drastically as in the next scene, Act 3 Scene 1, Tybalt is furious with Romeo because he went to the Capulets party and wasnt invited; therefore he wants to fight. But now that Tybalt is Romeos cousin Romeo refuses to fight, because of this Mercutio gets hurt and eventually killed. In the tragic ending Romeo doesnt receive the friars letter. The friars letter was to tell Romeo that Juliet would pretend to be dead, but in reality she was only in a coma due to a potion she had taken. But the messenger is delayed and instead Romeo is told Juliet is dead. Due to this he buys poison and goes to the tomb where she lays and he drinks, just as he drinks it Juliet awakes and sees him dead so she stabs herself. Romeos character in the play is very fascinating as in the preliminary scene he is negative and upset Ay me! Sad hours seem long. At the end of Act 1 Scene 1 where Romeo and Benvolio are talking, Romeo is upset as Rosaline does not feel the same way about Romeo as he does to her. Out of her favour where I am in love. This is unusual for Romeo to be melancholy like this because in most of the play he is reasonably a happy person. However in Act 1 Scene 5 when the Montague boys go to the Capulet ball, Romeos melancholy state totally changes. When he meets this beauty Juliet and immediately falls in love with her did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I neer saw true beauty till this night. This is very fickle of Romeo as in one scene he is entirely taken with Rosaline and then in the next he erases her from his mind and falls for Juliet. This links to the tragic ending as once he falls in love with Juliet he will do anything for her and doesnt want to live without her, therefore when Juliet dies he wants to die as well. Romeo is a very passionate character, in Act 3 scene 3 when he finds out he is banished he says Tis Torture, and not mercy. Then he becomes rather immature as he goes on to say in carrion flies than Romeo, they may seize on the white wonder of dear Juliets hand and steal immortal blessing from her lips, who even in pure and vestal modesty, still blush, as thinking their own kisses sin. But Romeo may not, he is banished. What he means by this is that a fly would now have a better life than he as they can land on her lips and steal immortal blessing. This shows a very childish side of Romeos character because instead of being a mature adult he is supposed to be he is being childish and self-centred and not thinking of anyone but him self. Romeo is very impulsive as he immediately declares his love for Juliet when he hasnt even seen her face or even talked to her, O she doth teach the torches to burn bright For I neer saw true beauty till this night. These two sentences, which are at the beginning and end of this little speech, inform the audience that he hasnt even seen her but thinks he has never seen any one so beautiful as she. Also when he finds out that Juliet is dead he immediately buys poison and without even thinking it through to see if the friar knew of anything he goes straight ahead and kills himself. Without even realising on how it might affect any body else. I do think Romeo is a weak character because if he loved Juliet as much as he said he did, he wouldve accepted his banishment and left Juliet alone for her own good. However as he is quite selfish he couldnt take the banishment and had to return to Verona. People might argue that Romeo is unlucky in the play and fate had something to do with it as he is a Montague and he falls for a Capulet, two families that hate each other. This is incredibly unlucky but it would not have been the same if he fell in love with someone else because he was forbidden to love Juliet, from fourth the fatal loins of these two foes a pair of star crossd lovers take their lives. Before he meets Juliet, the Capulets servant, Peter, was sent to give out the invitations for the party. Even though it is unlikely that they would send out a servant that could not read, coincidently he just so happens to bump into Romeo and Benvolio who can read but are Montagues. Ay, if I know the letters and the language If you not the house of Montague I pray come and crush a cup of wine. Yet again when he is at the ball it just so happens that Tybalt is standing near Romeo and hears him speak, This by the voice should be a Montague. It is unusual that no one else recognises Rom eo or even the other Montague boys. Then when Romeo kills Tybalt in a fit of anger, he is banished which is incredibly fortunate as he shouldve been put to death, Thy fault our laws calls death, but kind Prince taking part, hath rushed aside the law and turned black word death into banishment. Finally, when the friars letter about the plan of Juliets death did not reach Romeo, Romeo was then not aware of the plan and thought Juliet was dead. Without even asking the friar how or when Juliet died he went immediately to buy some poison. Character Analysis of Sheila in An Inspector Calls EssayRomeo than goes to Juliets room and they have a night together, but then in the morning Romeo awakes to a flash back of himself killing Tybalt and Tybalt falling into the water. Here again Luhrman uses the water theme to create a trapped feeling towards the characters. When Juliet is saying her farewells to Romeo he then falls in to the pool where she then has a premonition of him methinks I see thee now, thou art so low, as one dead in the bottom of a tomb. Where later on she does see Romeo lying next to her dead. What Baz Luhrman cleverly does is that how Romeo misses all the letters that are being sent to him; as when Balthasar comes to him, Romeo steps right on the letter and it makes the viewer hope that he will see it and pick it up. When Romeo goes to the church for the last scene Juliet is surrounded with lighted candles. What Luhrman does do in the film where it doesnt in the play, is that he makes Romeo drink the poison just as Juliet awakes so actually she sees him drink it and die in front of her. Luhrman does this because it makes the viewer anxious and wish that Juliet had woken at least 3 seconds earlier before or Romeo had waited a little longer. He does this because he wants the viewer to feel anxious and wish. He does this ending instead of the plays seeing that this ending makes it more tragic as Juliet watches Romeo die then Juliet shots herself instead of stabbing herself. In the play there is some evidence that suggests that Romeo was not simply unlucky, and that he could have been a victim of fate. For example when Mercutio gets killed Romeo says This days black fate on more days doth depend, this but begins the woe others must end. What he is saying here is that fate has done worst things to him in the past few days then it ever has and others have to end these bad things happening, but what he does not know is that he and Juliet end the whole feud between the two families by both of them committing suicide. When Romeo says I am fortunes fool right after he murders Tybalt. What he is saying is that is he thinks he is a fool because fate has taken control of him and made choices for him and that he is a fool for believing in fate and destiny and that now he has ruined his life. Before the Montague boys enter the party Romeo doesnt feel comfortable to go to the party as he says I fear too early for my mind misgives, some consequence yet hanging in the stars, shall bitterly begin this fearful date. When he says this he thinks that once he goes into the party fate will have something bad for him, and that if he does go something bad will happen. But then he meets Juliet which he thinks is wonderful but that is actually the awful thing that happens to him. But even though he says this he still says direct my sail, on lusty gentlemen. In Act 5 Scene 1 Romeo says, I dreamt my lady came and found me dead. What he does not know is that, this is what happens because Juliet does find him dead after he drinks the poison. This once again is referring to a premonition about his death, which can only be fate which is trying to tell him to not go on and that Juliet and him are not made for each other. Finally when Romeo finds out Juliet is dead he shouts then I defy you stars! What he is doing here is he is defying and going against what he thinks the stars have planned for him. He thinks that he should have had a good life and that he and Juliet are meant to be together but now Juliet is dead he is going against the stars. This also emphasises the belief in Elizabethans times that the heavens controlled all the peoples lives. In conclusion, many Elizabethans believed in fate and destiny, they would have believed that Romeo was a victim of fate, and that fate had interfered with everything and because of fate the story had a tragic ending. It was fate conspiring when a Montague fell in love with a Capulet. Fate that the servant asked for help reading the invitation from Romeo and Benvolio. Fate that the messenger was delayed in delivering the Friars letter. The Elizabethans believed that their lives were planned by the heavens before they were born and the premonitions could only have been fate, trying to tell both Romeo and Juliet that they are not supposed to be together hence star crossd lovers. Alternatively, the audience might think it was Romeos fault because he made foolish decisions. Firstly, knowing the families hatred for each other he still choose to go to the party. Secondly, Romeo did not even see Juliets face before he declared his love for her. Later, he only thought of his anger and not his love for Juliet when in revenge of Mercutios death he killed Tybalt. Again, he made a bad decision by foolishly not keeping to his banishment but returned to Verona. Also, he did not think of anyone but himself when he made the decision to just go and buy poison without talking to anybody first. I personally think the tragedy was caused by Romeos self-centred decisions and bad choices. In spite of this Romeo and Juliets momentous love affair was too strong and their love was too pure that if it had lasted more than a week they would have started to fade away from each other.