Minimum wage has been a debate throughout the years in the United States. Minimum Wage was established in 1938 at $0.25 per hour. Since those days, we have come a long way with minimum wage. Today, the federal minimum wage stands at $7.25 per hour. However, many states have higher minimum wages than the federal minimum wage like Minnesota has a minimum wage of $7.87. As of right now, there has been a movement called “The Fight for $15.” The movement began in 2012 according to the Fight for $15 website and is now going through 300 cities over 6 continents. Throughout the years minimum wage has changed drastically and may be on the verge of changing again. Minimum wage has been changing throughout the past, present, and future and there is many things about this debate.

First, Minimum wage in the past was established in the United States in the year of 1938 due to the “Fair Labor Standards Act” which set the first minimum wage at $0.25 per hour which in 2012, would’ve been equal to $4.00. The minimum wage after the Great Depression actually would have become worth about $3.50 more in 2015 then when it was still in the Great Depression according to a CNN Money article by Annalyn Kurtz and Tal Yellin.  Minimum Wage also affected the economy in many ways throughout the past much like it has today. In the past like during the Great Depression, wages were low because many companies could afford barely anything and at the same time there was little to no jobs being created. But, as we rose out of the Great Depression, wages began to increase but as wages increase, jobs don’t have more money to pay workers so it can result in unemployment.

Second, Nowadays, there has been a fight to increase minimum wage to over $10 and even up to $15 by 2021. A scholastic article “Should we raise the minimum wage?” includes a debate between Bernie Sanders and Ron Johnson. During the debate, Bernie Sanders, who is in favor of raising the minimum wage, states that “In the wealthiest country in the history of the world, a basic principle of American economic life should be that if 40 hours or more a week, you don’t live in poverty. Sadly, that’s not the case today. But that would put a big blow on the economy because even though people are getting a higher wage for working, other people don’t get to have a job at all because a company can’t afford to hire them. It could cause inflation which would make prices go up. If prices go up then someone may be paying a lot more for something. If they’re getting paid minimum wage, prices are still lower so they’re not paying as much for something. On the other side of the debate, Ron Johnson stated that “...A boost to $15 could cost up to 6 million jobs….”
Third, Usually, when somebody is being paid minimum wage, they are either on their first job, or they’re working in a low pay job like fast food. In an article based on a pizza chain in New York, the owner of the pizza chain said “It was $5 an hour when I started and I worked my way up, making more money, because I work hard…. I have no problem paying someone well, but when you’re training someone who’s never had a job before, why should I have to pay them $15 an hour?” Raising minimum wage may also have a negative effect on jobs. With a higher minimum wage, companies may have to cut workers in order to pay everyone the higher minimum wage so instead of millions of people getting paid, a percentage of those workers won’t get paid at all because other people got a higher wage.

Fourth, With the huge fight to get the minimum wage raised, it is a very realistic thing that can happen. Many of the workers who want it to be raised are also waiters and waitresses, as well as anyone else who earns tips. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 was amended in 1966 according to an article by Jackson Brained called ¨The Tipping Point: Millions work for less than the minimum wage, but tips make up the difference for many.¨ In this article, it states that companies can pay a worker less than minimum wage as long as the tips they earn can average up to or over the federal minimum of $7.25. Also according to Jackson Brained’s article, “Voters approved a 2016 referendum raising servers’ hourly wages from $3.75 to $12 by 2024 and eliminating the tip credit. But waiters didn’t want it. They responded by campaigning to overturn the results. They said a higher wage would cause customers to tip less and would actually reduce their take-home pay. The legislature responded during the 2017 session by reversing the tipped wage hike and keeping the tip credit.”

Minimum wage has been an ongoing topic throughout the United States for many years now. In some areas I think we have taken a step in the right direction but in others, not so much. Minimum wage has been a debate throughout the past all the way through the past and also for the foreseeable future. It all began with that little start of $0.25 per hour way back in 1938. Nowadays the Federal minimum wage is at a steady $7.25 but is started to be pressured to get raised by organizations like the “Fight For $15” movement. Overall, I believe minimum wage is a good thing to have and I think that it is fine where it is but it will most likely be raised in the future.