The CEO of Dunkin’ Donuts, Nigel Travis, has recently voiced his concerns on changing the minimum wage on CNN. While Travis agrees that some changes should be made to the minimum wage to help people account for the cost of living he states that a change to an amount like $15 would be outrageous. He uses logos to justify his claim when he informs us that a national increase of minimum wage to $15 would be a 71% increase over what we have in place today. He also uses pathos by sharing with us the idea that minimum wage most typically applies to entry level jobs such as fast food which is where many teenagers get their start. Most of these people aren’t the main workers for their family thus being able to sustain life off of their paycheck wouldn’t really be feasible. Travis then goes on to share that raising the minimum will have its greatest effect on small businesses who will have to fire people to cut back on their spending. This article continues to prove its point through statistics by showing us that MIT’s Living Wage Calculator has determined the cost of living in New York to be about $12.75. While the current minimum wage is under the calculated cost of living the proposed amount of $15 would be above and beyond what is necessary to change. We will see in the near future how legislation will choose to handle this hotly debated issue.
http://money.cnn.com/2015/07/23/news/dunkin-ceo-minimum-wage/index.html
Eryn Petrakis says
I think you did a great job showing the rhetorical appeals that Nigel Travis used in his segment on CNN. I also like how you included that Nigel Travis mentioned that teenagers are not the main money makers in their family.
Nick Rutkowski says
Chris, minimum wage is always a great topic for debate. Hopefully there’s some way to meet in the middle… Maybe adjust it according to inflation every few years?
gvl5144 says
Raising minimum wage is definitely a difficult decision since it will have a huge effect on all types of businesses as well as everyone with those jobs. A slighter increase in minimum wage may be beneficial but I don’t think it’s necessary.