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Raising the minimum wage
There is much debate and discussion regarding raising the minimum wage. What are some of the ethical issues raising the minimum wage would pose? Should a government protect employees by instituting or increasing the minimum wage? Does the answer depend on the ethical theory to which one subscribes?
Your initial post should include your analysis and evidence from other cases that support your analysis. Your follow-up discussion should challenge your classmates findings and defend your own position.
Example.
To increase the minimum wage or not to increase it? Many people have considered, researched, and debated this question for a long time. This is a topic on which many people have an opinion, but it only raises the issue of what the minimum wage is and when and why it was established in the United States of America. According to the US Department of Labor, it began "in 1938 during the Great Depression... at $0.25 per hour" (Minimum), and The Columbia Encyclopedia describes it as the "lowest wage legally permitted." That explains the what and when of the minimum wage, but not the why, which is to "assure wage earners a standard of living above the lowest permitted by health and decency," as the Columbia Encyclopedia continues. "Now that we better understand the minimum wage, we can investigate why it should not be altered. It will not be beneficial to raise the maximum wage because of the inflation that will take place, higher housing costs, difficulties for small businesses, higher rates of high school dropout and unemployment, and, overall, more poverty.
