The Living-Wage Debate

Paper Summary:

The paper examines M. Hurd's support for living-wage legislation and R. Berman's arguments against living-wage laws in "Do Living-wage Laws Help Poor Workers?". The paper analyzes both viewpoints and concludes that Berman is more convincing in his arguments against living-wage laws. The paper explains that Berman uses facts to reinforce his claims while Hurd relies mainly on anecdotal accounts. The paper therefore takes the position that the well-intentioned efforts to increase the income of a few poor workers has an overall negative effect upon this class of low-skilled employees.

Outline:
Analysis
Evaluation
Rebuttal
Polemic

From the Paper:

"The adoption of living-wage laws by nearly one hundred cities and counties is a benefit to the local economies, thus is the conclusion of Maude Hurd, President of Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), when she states, "When workers earn enough to support themselves, taxpayers spend less on food stamps, housing assistance, Earned Income Tax Credits, on other handouts" (Hurd, "Do Living-wage Laws Help Poor Workers?".). Beyond the economic benefits, there is a general community wide enhancement when, as Hurd claims, "Communities benefit from less crime, more homeownership and increased time to parents to spend with their kids" (Hurd, n.p.). The direct and indirect benefits of living wage regulation are realized by the local economy, local and federal governments, employers and families, these are the conclusions made by Hurd in urging additional jurisdictions to embrace this concept and enact legislation mandating the payment of a living wage to all low income workers."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Hurd, Maude. "Do Living-wage Laws Help Poor Workers?". CQ on the Web. 27 September 2002. CQpress.com. 11 May 2007. <http://cqpress.com/?>
• Berman, Richard. "Do Living-wage Laws Help Poor Workers?". CQ on the Web. 27 September 2002. CQpress.com. 11 May 2007. <http://cqpress.com/?>

More papers on The Living-Wage Debate:

• Analytical Essay # 133620 : "Living Wage Debate"
• Research Paper # 92559 : "Minimum Wage Debate"
• Argumentative Essay # 93599 : "Minimum Wage Increase"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: