Annotated Bibliography

Barbara, Mantel. “Minimum Wage: Would Raising the Rate Be Good For the Economy?” 24.4 (24 January.2014.) CQ Researcher. Web. 30 Sep.2014.

Barbara Mantel, who is an award winning writer with more than 25 years of journalism experience online, in print, and on radio lays out opinions by Jared Bernstein, which was a former chief Economist to Vice President Biden about the minimum wage helping the economy. Mantel begins by quoting Bernsteins opinion on the minimum wage issues. Bernstein states that raising the minimum wage would help. Berstein argues that an extra dollar earned by a wealthy person is less likely to be spent than an extra dollar earned by a low income person. The rich are not “income constrained,” but on the other hand, the low-income worker is much more likely to consume their extra dollar of earnings. Berstein also points out that if minimum wage was increased to $10.10 it would not lead to employment losses because it would only affect 13 percent of the workforce. He examined that if minimum wage was increased, then low-wage workers would benefit the economy by spending their new earnings to produce growth. Bersteins last statement was that making a difference is to help low wage families get closer to making ends meet. Mantel presents herself as a reliable source because she is quoting Bernstein and her focus seems to be that she agrees with raising the minimum wage.

Karp, Gregory. “Minimum-Wage Debate Rages On.”www.chicagotribune.com. 02 February. 2014. web. 19. Oct. 2014.

Gregory Karp, who is an author and journalist of 20 years, and also has a weekly column that appears in the Chicago Tribune and Baltimore Sun, quotes Robert Bruno, a professor of labor and employment relations at the University of Illinois at Chicago about the minimum wage debate. Bruno states that there is no research that has ever identified a negative job impact from raising the minimum wage. However, some studies have shown a reduction in the number of entry level jobs that might otherwise have been created if not for a minimum-wage increase, Bruno said. Karp also uses other reliable sources like Kim Maisch, who is Illinois State Director of the National Federation of Independent Business, said that piling on a large wage increase could lead business owners to close their doors or reduce payrolls. Maisch claims that business owners are also dealing with the relatively high cost of doing business in Illinois, such as workers compensation cost and unemployment insurance cost, and the impact of Obamacare. There are only so many dollars to go around, she said. But raising the minimum-wage could create more of these dollars because worker will have more money to spend, creating a stimulating effect as those dollars spread through the economy, supporters say. Karp points to a 2011 study by the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank, which found that for each dollar in a minimum-wage hike, household income rises by $1000 a year but spending increases by $2800. I believe the authors credibility because he had a lot of studies and information from professional business people.

Halvorson, Chad. “The Pros and Cons of Raising the Minimum Wage” www.wheniwork.com. 06 Mar. 2014. Web. 19. Oct. 2014.

Chad Halvorson, who is the founder of when I work, which is an easy way for employers to communicate with employees points out the pros and cons on increasing the minimum wage. Halvorson builds his article by observing other peoples comments on the site. he then uses his own research to the pros and cons of raising the minimum wage. The pros are Economic Stimulus: Raising the minimum wage means workers will have more money to spend to expand the economy. More opportunities for jobs: If minimum wage employees are spending more, then businesses are earning more and able to hire more people to keep up with increased sales. Reduced expense for social programs: Raising the minimum wage means people would be able to better support themselves without relying on the government so heavily. This would ultimately mean lower taxes or a reallocation of those funds to support other needs. Decreased turnover rate: Employers making a higher minimum wage feel more comfortable and satisfied in their minimum wage jobs meaning they are less likely to quit. Which means it would be a lower turnover rate. Inflation: Minimum wage needs to be raised in order to account for inflation, which raises every year and the minimum wage has only been risen three times in the past three decades. The cons are Layoffs: If minimum wage was raised then employers can no longer compensate the same number of employees at a higher rate and must make some layoffs to remain within the budget. Price increase: Employers might increase prices of their products in order to generate more income to support their more highly paid minimum wage employees. Which can result in slightly higher cost of living. Fewer highers: If minimum wage were raised employers cannot afford to hire as many employees. Competition will intensify: If minimum wage increases over qualified workers would be pushing out younger inexperienced workers robbing them to gain experience and knowledge. Some suggest that creating more jobs for people instead of raising the minimum wage will be a better solution for reducing the national poverty rate. In this blog Chad Halvorson has some good views about the minimum wage, and his website seem legit because he allows people to put their own opinions on his site, which means his is not a bias person.

Gorry. Aspen. Nataraj Slavav. Sita. “Minimum Wage, Maximum Harm” US News & World Report. 01 May. 2014 Web. 21 Oct. 2014.

Aspen Gorry, who is an Assistant Professor of Economics and Finance at Utah State University, and Sita Slavav Nataraj, who is a Professor of School and Policy, Government, and Internal Affairs both wrote this article to show how raising the minimum wage will effect the youth. In February, the Congressional Budget Office reported its estimates of the effects of raising the federal minimum wage. According to CBO, raising the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour-as said by President Barack Obama-would cost the economy 500,000 jobs. However it could also raise wages for those who keep their jobs , lifting 900,000 people out of poverty. The CBO report sparked controversy, with the opponents of minimum wage increases highlighting the lost jobs and supporters focusing on the reductions in poverty. In determining how to weigh these factors , policy makers need to know something about both the short-and long-term social cost of the lost jobs. A new study suggest that most of the job losses from a minimum wage increase will occur among younger workers. Such jobs losses harm these workers' ability to gain valuable experience at a critical time in their careers and permanently damage their future employment prospects. The harm done by the minimum wage increases gets compounded for young workers because it prevents them from gaining experience, thus increasing chances of being unemployed in the future. In this report Gorry and Nataraj  use a graph to represent a group under the age of 25 who earns less than $9 an hour. It shows if minimum wage increased that they would lose their jobs or need to be paid more to policy change. Table 2 shows that hiking the minimum wage to $10.10 affects more than three quarters of 18-19 year old workers and more than half of 20-24 year old workers. Job losses will be concentrated among young workers. Much harm to young workers could be avoided by exempting individuals under the age of 25 like other countries do. Gorry and Nataraj both seem like reliable sources due to the fact they both have degrees in Economy. Their article could have been more in depth as to why it would effect young workers, therefore, I am left with some unanswered concerns.

Harris. Benjamin H. and Kearney. Melissa S “The Ripple Effect of a Minimum Wage Increase on American Workers.” www.brooking.com. 10 Jan. 2014 Web. 21 Oct. 2014.

Benjamin H Harris, who earned his BA in Economics, and awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to Namibia, and Melissa S Kearney who is a Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Maryland and earned her Ph. D in Economics explain how the minimum wage can help low waged workers. In this article the Harris and Kearney state that economist Arin Dube of the University of Massachusetts points out that those impacted by the minimum wage will be mostly teenagers. He shows that among those earning no more than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 in 2011, fewer than a quarter were teenagers. Among those earning less than $10 an hour, only 12 percent were teenagers, as compared to 26 percent in 1979. Using the data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, just 2.6 percent of workers are paid exactly the minimum wage, but 29.4 percent of workers are paid wages that are below or equal to 150 percent of the minimum wage in their state. Furthermore, the hours worked by this group represent nearly one-quarter-24.7 percent-of hours worked, which indicates that a large share of the impacted group is working close to full time hours. A minimum wage increase could provide a much needed boost to low-wage workers. A significant 35 million workers from across the county could earn a better livelihood and lead more economically secure lives. Policymakers should defiantly consider this. Harris and Kearney focus on the raising the minimum wage and who can be affected by the raise. This article on brooking.com seems legit due to data and statistics from economist and data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics combined with information on the binding minimum wage in each state.

Hoium. Travis. “What Will a Minimum Wage Increase Cost You at McDonald's?” The Motley Fool. www.fool.com. 08 Jun. 2014 Web. 21. Oct. 2014.

Travis Hoium, which earned a BA in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota states in his article that it is true that increasing wages on companies like McDonald's would likely lead to higher costs and prices, but labor is less than a quarter of cost of what you pay for at the fast food giant. So the impact my not be as big as people think. McDonald's has not commented directly on the financial impact of minimum wage increase. Hoium states that labor cost, input cost from food packaging, and other inputs into the business may increase if the minimum wage were raised. McDonald's company-owned stores brought in $18.9 billion in revenue last year and spend $4.8 billion on employee payroll and benefits. He used a chart showing company owned store data and assumed that McDonald's company-owned store profit remains flat. In the chart it shows that if minimum wage was $10 an hour the Labor costs-company-owned stores would be $6.65 billion and a 9.7 percent increase. The prices did go up but a $10 minimum wage would cost consumers a dime more per dollar spent. Labor is the second largest cost component and food cost should be watched more closely than the minimum wage debate. Some, like Time Worstall at Forbes have argues that demand will drive prices, not costs, meaning that McDonald's may have little resources to rising costs. Hoium also points out that a report by John Schmitt for the center for Economic and Policy Research found that a 10% increase in the minimum wage would raise food prices about 4%. In conclusion, Hoium states that whether the minimum wage is going up or not, McDonald's is getting more expensive. For example, they took one piece of cheese off the double cheese burger and still raised the price. Small changes like taking a piece of cheese off and increasing the price are subtle ways to increase the price and McDonald's does it well. If labor costs went up to $10 we would see more subtle changes similar to this along with small price increases on regular items. Then increase in price would be 10% at the most and more than likely be hidden from the consumers like they have been since the minimum wage increased in 2009. Hoium manages an account that owns shares of McDonald's, therefore, he has accurate information on this subject, and believes that raising the minimum wage will not help or hurt the economy, but he does not seem to be against it. Hoium's main audience was fast food workers, particularly Mc Donalds.

Wee. Heesun “What the Minimum Wage Fight Says About The Economy.” www.cnbc.com 28. Feb. 2014 Web. 21. Oct. 2014.

Heesun Wee is a features reporter and editor for CNBC.com, in her article she quotes that if the entire reigon was not so tragic it would be comical..now the lower middle class is pitted against the working middle class, one reader said. Life shouldn't be easy for unskilled workers, another reader concluded. Bill Pollack, is a small business owner who has been in the jewelry business for nearly 40 years. Pollack says increasing the minimum wage will not have a big impact on them hiring. He wants to raise the skills of his craftsmen so they can innovate, create new products and ultimately generate more sales. While higher pay wouldn't be a deal breaker for Relios Jewelry business, it would have a much deeper impact on the restaurant and food industry, which relies on lower-wage employees. Steve Schwartz, chief executive of Los Angeles-based Art of Tea states that based on his experience as a worker after a minimum wage went up, the world went up in terms of prices. People who worked hard over the years to earn more than the minimum wage, they were the ones that got most affected, he said. Last week, apparel retailer Gap said it would raise the hourly pay for its U.S. Employees to $9 in June 2014 and $10 in June 2015. Gap quoted that its their decision to invest in front-line employees because it will directly support their business. A former Microsoft employee named Mike Saginaw , said that an open work culture combined with higher wages prevents high turnover, improves productivity, and higher wages attract quality job candidates Abera Siyoun is a father of two who makes $7.25 an hour, he suggest that an additional $2.85 an hour would allow him to work fewer hours. Siyoun claims that is too hard to raise two children off $7.25. Siyon like many others are in the class of the under employed and discouraged that make up Americas total unemployment level, around 12.7% in January. Heesun has creditable sources due to the fact that she interviewed business owners, and people that works for businesses on the minimum wage issues.

Wihbey. John. “Effects of Raising the Minimum Wage: Research and Key Lessons."  www.journalistresource.org 20. Feb. 2014 Web. 21. Oct. 2014.

John Wihbey is the editor of Journalist’s Resource at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics & Public Policy, and he is also a lecturer in journalism at Boston University. In this article the Wihbey gives background on the minimum wage. The U.S. Federal minimum wage was first established during the great depression, and since 1933 has risen from 25 cents to $7.25 an hour. Despite the increases, inflation has eroded its value: returning it to the value it held in 1968 would require an increase to nearly $10 an hour. This will boost the wages of some 15 million people. In February 2014, the Congressional Budget Office issued a new report saying that it would likely be a reduction of about 500,000 workers across but about 16.5 million low wage workers will see gains in their earnings in an average week. Some critics assert that the real effects of minimum wage increases are negative: they hurt businesses, raise prices, and counterproductive for the working poor, as they can lead to unemployment. (center for American progress and American Enterprise Institute). Some studies predict that raising the minimum wage could ripple across the economy, boosting wages to nearly 30% of the American workforce. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) chart in the article showing how raising the minimum wage will effect young workers under the age of 25. Also two scholarly debates by Alan Krueger and his colleague David Card produced a seminal paper discussing the results of New Jersey raising the minimum wage, comparing the outcomes in the fast food industry to those in Pennsylvania were rages remained the same. The data included no reduced employment at fast food restaurants in the state of New Jersey. The paper from University of Leicester, found that firms tend to respond to minimum wage increases not by reducing production or unemployment, but by raising prices. John Wihbey is reliable because the he uses a lot of scholarly debates, articles, and studies from different Universities.

Johnson. Dave. “Want to Cut Food Stamp Spending? Raise the Minimum Wage” www.ourfuture.org 03. Dec. 2013 Web. 21. Oct. 2014.

Dave Johnson, who is a blogger on ourfuture.org writes his article on raising the minimum wage to cut food stamp spending. According to his research, the Bureau of Labor Statistics 1.57 million people in the United States make the minimum wage, and another 1.98 million make even less. Of those who make minimum wage or less 44% are in food preparation and serving related occupations, 15% are in sales and related occupations, 9.7% in personal care and service occupations, 6.5% in building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations, 6.8% in transportation and material moving occupations and 6.4% in office and administrative support occupations. (The largest sector that is below minimum wage is in food preparation and serving related occupations). The average age of fast food workers is 29 and more than a fourth are raising children. 64% of those making the minimum wage are women. Raising the minimum wage boost the economy and does not cost jobs. A Chicago Federal Reserve Bank Study looked at 23 years of household spending data and found that increasing the minimum wage raises other incomes, and that every dollar of hourly wage increase for a minimum wage worker results in $2,800 in new consumer spending by his or her household over the following year. Johnson goes on to say that, President Obama has endorsed raising the minimum wage to $10.10 and indexing it to inflation. Early this year the Economic Policy Institute estimated that in increase in the minimum wage to $10.10 benefiting 30 million workers. Other would benefit indirectly because their pay is in effect pegged to the minimum- For example, fast food store managers. Raising the minimum wage is a better way to cut spending on assistance programs because higher wages cut the need for assistance such as Food Stamps. Currently 52% of fast food workers get paid from public programs like food stamps. According to the National Employment Law Project, low wages and lack of benefits at the 10 largest fast-food companies in the United States cost tax payers an estimated $3.8 billion per year. A Berkeley Labor Center study, Fast Food, Poverty wages: The Public cost of low-wage Jobs in the fast-food industry says the cost of public assistance to families of workers in fast-food industry is nearly $7 billion per year. Due to low earnings, fast-food workers' families.. receive an annual average of $1.04 billion in food stamp benefits. If minimum wage workers receive a raise, the need for government assistance will decrease. Dave Johnson is a reliable source because he shows information from different sources on the minimum wage issue. 

United States Department of Labor. Office of the Secretary. “Minimum Wage Mythbusters” www.dol.gov/minwage/mythbuster.htm. 21. Oct. 2014.

Myth: Increasing the minimum wage will cause people to loose their jobs. Not true: A review of 64 studies on minimum wage increases found no effect on employment. Actually more than 600 economist, seven of them Noble Prize winners in economics, have signed onto a letter in support of raising the minimum wage to $10.10 by 2016. Myth: Restaurant servers don't need to be paid the minimum wage since they receive tips. Not true: An employer can pay a tipped employee as little as $2.13 per hour in direct wages, but only if that amount plus tips equal at least the federal minimum wage and the worker retains all tips and customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips. Often, an employee's tips combined with the employer's direct wages of at least $2.13 an hour do not equal the federal minimum hourly wage. When that occurs, the employer must make up the difference. Some states have minimum wage laws specific to tipped employees. When an employee is subject to both the federal and state wage laws, he or she is entitled to the provisions of each law which provides the greater benefits.Myth:The minimum wage stays the same if Congress doesn't change it.

Congress sets the minimum wage, but it doesn't keep pace with inflation. Because the cost of living is always rising, the value of a new minimum wage begins to fall from the moment it is set. I'm not sure about this source because its from a government site and they don't always tell the truth.

Cardenas. Vanessa. “The Benefits of Increasing the Minimum Wage for People of Color.” www.americanprogress.org 21. April. 2014 web. 22. Oct. 2014.

Vanessa Cardenas is the Vice President of Progress 2050 at American Progress. Her work focuses on the intersection of policy and race with particular attention to demographic changes, immigration, and issues relevant to the growing Latino community in the United States. In this particular Cardenas states that a full time worker earning $7.25 makes $15,080 a year and that is $4,000 below the federal poverty line for a family of three. Raising the minimum wage would make a significant difference for all Americans, and people of color in particular; it would increase the total combined wages of people of color by $16.1 billion. Although, many Americans work 40 hours or more each week, their wages are low enough to get food stamps and other public assistance, to sustain themselves their families. The Fair Minimum Wage Act would be a good step to address this gap and help lift people out of poverty. A total of 6 million workers would be lifted out of poverty if minimum wage were raised to $10.10 an hour, and 60 percent of them would be people of color. Blacks, Asians, and Hispanics, would benefit since they constitute a larger share of minimum wage earners than their share of the overall workforce. They represented 42 percent of minimum wage earners in 2013, despite the fact that they made up just 32 percent of the workforce. Cardenas says that an increase would benefit not just individuals but the economy. It would also reduce programs such as SNAP, producing $46 billion in savings over 10 years. Workers would also have more money to spend on basic needs , which would give businesses more customers stimulating the economy and increasing demand for additional workers. 80 percent of small businesses already pay their employees above the minimum wage. Recently, Gap raised its minimum wage to $10, explaining, that their decision to invest in front line employees will directly support their business. More than 600 economists, including Nobel Prize winners, endorse raising the minimum wage to $10.00 per hour. It is time to even the playing field for all working Americans by raising the minimum wage. This would be a welcome and needed change for people of color, who are becoming a growing share of our population and who historically have experienced larger economic losses during economic downturns than the rest of the population. No worker should have to live in poverty or be expected to raise a family on $15,000 per year. I really agree with this article and Cardenas represents people of color and stands up for what is right, so she seems reliable and honest.