Raising the Minimum Wage, Outline Example

Introduction

1. David Shipler inductively broaches public policy pertaining to poverty in an inductive manner, inquiring what the working poor in America need rather than what the private sector or government can do to solve this problem at the macro level
2. Shipler’s sociological approach to abating poverty in the United States ignores the economic realities of complying with a federally mandated raise in the minimum wage
3. The negative ramifications of raising the minimum wage include higher unemployment rates because hiking the wages paid to workers would result in the discharge of several productive, good employers (Cahn and Cahn)
4. As a result, there would be less economic incentive to hire new workers so that organizations can still yield profits
5. There would also be an increase in high school dropouts and/or less individuals, especially from socioeconomically disadvantaged communities, who attend college because mandated higher wages that will enable them to subsist would entice them to choose work over school
6. Thesis: Rather than argue over the merits and disadvantages of a higher minimum wage at the federal level, it is clear that government at both the state and federal levels need to consider passing economic policies that will generate greater economic growth, thereby increasing overall wages and providing all workers more job opportunities to climb out of poverty

Body Paragraph 1: Antithesis

1. The primary argument left-leaning economists use is that increasing the minimum wage will also boost pay and employment; as such, the wages of the lesser-skilled workers would increase and thus reduce poverty levels
2. One study conducted by David Card and Alan Krueger during the 1990s concluded that when employees working for fast-food restaurants in New Jersey had their minimum wage increased, the levels of employment did as well (Hall and Krueger)
3. In his 2015 State of the Union address, Barack Obama states: “Of course, nothing helps families make ends meet like higher wages. … And to everyone in this Congress who still refuses to raise the minimum wage, I say this: If you truly believe you could work full-time and support a family on less than $15,000 a year, go try it. If not, vote to give millions of the hardest-working people in America a raise”
4. How much should a worker be paid is one question that remains at the core of this issue

Body Paragraph II: Why the Federal Minimum Wage Should Not Be Raised

1. Analyzing the issue from a macroeconomic perspective will demonstrate that a mandated minimum wage increase would result in job loss, high unemployment rates, and thus higher levels of poverty
2. Rather than helping the poor, this policy would hurt them and immensely hurt the job sector (Currie 3)
3. Various economic models support such macroeconomic analysis, which will be teased out in order to refute the claims made by proponents of a wage increase
4. According to Forbes, “Raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $15.00 could put pressure on other lower-paying jobs which pay slightly more than the existing minimum. This could cause stress in the compensation structure of many small businesses. In fact, any mandate from the government which increases the cost of doing business could result in a number of consequences, mostly negative”