In-Class Roundtable Outline: Minimum Wage

In Class Roundtable Plan

 

My persuasive essay topic is minimum wage legislation in the United States. It seems to be a perennial issue in the world of politics, and it has once again been brought into the spotlight fairly recently, especially with the passage of a bill by President Obama to raise the minimum wage for newly hired federal contract workers to $10.10 per hour. Now the president and other lawmakers are pushing to raise the national minimum wage rate to $10.10 from its current level of $7.25. Many states have already enacted their own minimum wage legislation to set a rate higher than the national requirement, the highest of which is Washington state at $9.32. Additionally, a recent movement by some fast food workers sought a living wage from employers by demanding $15 per hour, which sparked outcry from opponents who claim $15 an hour is an outrageously high wage for the fast food industry.

 

It seems that the time has come for the United States once again to reconsider its minimum wage legislation, and in terms of the wage rate it seems that there are generally three options—raise, lower, or keep the same. Proponents of raising the rate maintain that higher wages have the ability to lift more of the country’s population from the depths of poverty, while opponents argue that an increase in the minimum wage rate will in fact hurt more than it will help, as employers facing higher labor costs choose to lay off workers, reduce hours, and/or raise prices to compensate.

 

My interest in America’s minimum wage discussion partially stems from my interest in examining how economies function and how government policies and regulations can alter the state of an economy—an interest that has lead me to pursue a minor in economics. A large part of the ongoing minimum wage discussion is based on its predicted outcome—what will actually happen in the real world if the minimum wage is raised? However, the vast number of variables acting within the US and global economies present an obstacle in determining an absolute outcome of any potential regulation. In essence, while a course on economics might choose to represent the debate with a simple graph that would seem to lead to an obvious choice of action, in reality the US economy is much more complex.

(Simplified) Minimum Wage Graph Source: http://s3.amazonaws.com/answer-board-image/8585dc80-3f09-4db9-967f-4b24b43227fc.jpeg

(Simplified) Minimum Wage Graph
Source: http://s3.amazonaws.com/answer-board-image/8585dc80-3f09-4db9-967f-4b24b43227fc.jpeg

Within my paper I want to explore and examine several options for national minimum wage legislation. Specifically, a Congressional Budget Office report released in February of this year proposed and analyzed two options—a raise to $9.00 and a raise to $10.10. Still, the findings of this report have been disputed, and other economic analysis has yielded conclusions in direct opposition to the CBO report. Perhaps America’s discussion (and much of its debate) about the minimum wage has more to do with the differences in economic philosophies across party aisles—an idea I will discuss in my paper.

My hope is that by reading my paper, the reader will come away with a more comprehensive understanding of the various viewpoints within America’s minimum wage discussion. Ultimately, my personal opinion is that the minimum wage should be increased, not necessarily due to the political aspects but more so due to the increasing cost of living and rate of inflation. I will likely propose that the minimum wage be tied to the rate of inflation, such that as inflation increases and the US dollar is devalued the minimum wage rises to compensate. But in the end my goal is to examine multiple opinions and options and, after the facts are laid out, to let the reader decide.

Works in Progress

What topic(s) will I select for my persuasive essay and advocacy project? That is the question, and although I have a few thoughts for each, I am in no way committed at this time, and my final topic(s) could and may very well be entirely different from anything I propose in this post.

My first thought for a topic that could encompass both the persuasive essay and the advocacy project is to follow on a similar path as my civic issues blog: environmental policy or perhaps just the environment in general. In my most current civic issues post, The Case for (and Against) Cap and Trade, I experimented with writing in an journalistic style, similar to articles I’ve read on online news sites. While my post was largely objective in nature, I did try to incorporate driving questions as section dividers, which enabled more of my commentary to enter the piece in a sort of editorial style. After reading both a journalistic style and a format scientific report for class, I believe that a journalistic style persuasive essay would be easier to read as well as be more engaging (if it can be pulled off in the context of the topic I choose). I was initially more inclined to write a scientific report, as that is the type of report I am most used to writing, and as an engineer that style is more applicable and relevant to what I will be doing in my career. I never realized that, despite the density of excellent information, fact, and suggestions, just how boring a scientific style report can be to read. Perhaps it was just that specific report to the president—I have read scientific journal articles that are significantly more engaging, even with additional technical jargon.

For my advocacy project, I could similarly develop a pro-environment type of campaign. The problem I’m having is that it seems too cliche and over-used. Penn State is strewn with campaigns for recycling, compositing, energy and water conservation, and sustainability, to name a few. It doesn’t need another one unless it is going to be truly innovative and more effective—a different approach. I’m not sure how much further you can go to try to make people recycle besides offering more incentive or using brunt force. Everyone already knows that taking shorter showers, turning off the lights, and recycling are good for the environment—it’s just that they choose not to do these environmentally beneficial actives. Also, I think I might have a hard time with an environmental advocacy project because I am not exactly an environmentalist myself. Therefore, it could be a bit hypocritical and I might not be able to stand fully behind that sort of advocacy project. Another option is related to the recent disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370—advocacy for the implementation of newer GPS and radar tracking technology in airports and airplanes to prevent similar cases. I am very interested in aerospace and flight, so that is a very possibly topic, but everything is fairly amorphous at this point.

This I Believe – Work in Progress

Currently in progress is my “This I Believe” essay/podcast. I chose my topic to be bread making. It is one of my most favorite hobbies—it’s my way to take part in my Italian heritage while also combining it with my passion for science. In my essay I wanted to emphasize how these two mesh.

I began my essay with a story of me being inspired to bake break—walking down the supermarket aisle and not being able to pronounce the ingredients in the commercially made breads. I then describe making the first loaf, failing miserably, but ultimately after several tries getting it right. This example of failure was meant to highlight how my treatment of bread making as a bit of a science has helped me improve my art. To emphasize this, I included a couple measurements as an appeal to logos.

Ultimately, I wanted to portray how the moral of the story is how I enjoy using my own talents to contribute to and to carry on a tradition of my heritage. In the end, it’s all about making my family proud, loaf by loaf.

I thought the proofreading activity on Wednesday was helpful for the assignment. Hearing it spoken by someone else really highlighted the need for it to be written for performance. There were definitely a few instances of unpronounceable words (such as the chemical names), tongue-twisting word combinations, and wording that just sounds a bit awkward. It was also helpful to read/listen to other essays. In comparison, my essay seemed a bit lengthy and drawn out. It definitely needs some revision for clarity’s sake. I really liked the essays that managed to be brief but meaningful, having good details and description where necessary and clear writing throughout. Therefore, I plan to make my essay’s meaning more clear and direct with further revision. I may need to cut some of the story to add perhaps more detail to highlight the family tradition.

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