Being able to afford your basic needs without the constant anxiety of living paycheck to paycheck should be accessible to all. The ability to have this privilege comes from minimum wage. Since the late 19th century, raising the minimum wage has been a recurring debate for ages. In America, minimum wage started during the great depression by president Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Over the years, it has been adjusted to keep pace with inflation and the changes of cost and living and yet still it currently is far behind what it once was due to hyperinflation. Minimum wage being raised would be beneficial to students.
Minimum wage being raised would give students a stronger financial foundation for their future. Students would be able to earn more money through work, allowing them to better meet their financial needs without sacrificing their academic responsibilities. They’ll be able to focus on school and not have to decide between a good grade or enough money. Increasing the minimum wage means people earn more money, helping them afford needs like food, paying bills or any extracurricular activities.
Junior Madalyn Nunn-Hart balances the demands of school work while working a job for 15 hours a week. She does this all while covering expenses like cell phone bills and gas can be incredibly tiring doing the same routine everyday.
“I get drained because I go straight from school to work and then I have work the whole rest of the night so I really don’t have time for school work,” Nunn-Hart said. “My teachers expect me to get it all done because they don’t realize I have work after school.”
Increasing minimum wage will have positive effects on student academic performance and overall well-being. Financial stress can take a toll on students’ mental health and academic success. It would provide students with a means to support themselves financially while still pursuing their education and participating in extracurricular activities. Junior Julia Henke believes that her daily schedule would improve immensely if minimum wage were raised.
“In order to balance school and work I would have to take off days of school, and work. The other possibility is I miss certain days of classes so I can get my school work done or I’d take my break at work so I could do my school work,” Henke said.
Work has a huge impact on teenagers’ abilities to stay caught up in school and balance their grades and social life. Earning a higher wage would encourage students to save for their future and develop important financial skills while strictly focusing on school. Raising the minimum wage would provide a positive work environment and improve the overall company culture. The standard minimum wage is $10.33 per hour for teenagers, this along with minors only being able to work 24 hours a week, the amount of money coming in is very low.
The Committee on Education and the Workforce Democrats is a group in the U.S congress pressuring our government to raise the minimum wage. The Workforce discusses concerns of raising the minimum wage and provides statistics on why it definitely should be raised. One of the leaders of the group is Robert Scott. Scott believes the pros of raising minimum wage far outweigh the cons.
“Raising the minimum wage increases worker productivity. Studies by leading economists, including Nobel laureate George Akerlof of Georgetown University, found that employee morale and work ethic increase when employees believe they are paid a fair wage,” Scott said.
With raising the minimum wage there would be health and wellness benefits, improved employee productivity and morale. With all these benefits this is better for every workforce. Making it so workers are putting their full effort and potential into the work they are doing. Raising the minimum would have health and wellness benefits because it reduces suicide, reduces drug usage, it would also lower depression because you are making more money hourly, decreasing the amount of hours people would be working.
With raising the minimum wage, teenagers wouldn’t have to be worried about their mental health and could focus on themselves more as well as focus on academics.
“I think that I would be more successful in school and work if the minimum wage was raised,” Henke said. “I would work harder and I think that I’d have to work less making it easier to get my school work done.”
