The Minimum Wage During The Great Depression - 1229 Words

Since the beginning of minimum wage during the Great Depression, the discussion of the how much minimum wage should be has always been occurring. Currently there is a strong push for the minimum wage to be raised, especially as Americans compare the current American rate to other countries’ rates. The New York Times recently reported that unionized Danish fast-food workers are paid more than twice as much as the average fast-food worker in America, and the Danish workers also receive benefits and paid vacation (Salz par. 2). Salz in his article, â€Å"Invitation to a Dialogue: A Challenge to America,† begs America to change its minimum wage rate so as to better take care of Americans. What Salz fails to take into account is the context of the comparison of rates along with the purpose of minimum wage when it was created, the effects of raising the minimum wage, and looking at the costs involved. In Salz’s article he compares the pay of Danish workers to Amer ican workers. This is two different contexts which must be taken into account. One cannot merely compare the dollar amount of pay when the cost of living, workers skill level, and taxes must be taken into consideration. The cost of living is much higher in Europe, for example, than in America. Also, the Danish workers are unionized compared to non-unionized, fast-food workers in America, which begs the question of what are union costs and what is involved with being in a union. In Salz’s article, he assumesShow MoreRelatedMinimum Wage During The Great Depression1419 Words   |  6 PagesThe Minimum Wage Battle In the United States, the minimum wage was passed during the Great Depression in 1938 to protect the buying power of normal workers in a period in which the â€Å"unemployment rate was still a very high 19 percent† (Sklar, 2009, p. 1). Since that time, there has been significant debate about the controversial topic of raising the federal minimum wage. The federal minimum wage law was created to eliminate unfair practices of sweat shops and manufacturing companies during this timeRead MoreIncrease Minimum Wage During The Great Depression1834 Words   |  8 PagesIncrease Minimum Wage After the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed approximately 121 bills into law. One of these bills included the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 which would ban oppressive child labor, set the maximum workweek at 44 hours and finally, set the minimum hourly wage at 25 cents. President Roosevelt believed that it was the government’s duty to protect against â€Å"starvation wages and intolerable hours† (Grossman). 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