OutlineI. Introduction· Minimum wage is usually defined as the lowest hourly, daily or monthly wage that employers are required by law to pay their employees· Students are forced to seek employment where they get the minimum wages as means of meeting their academic and daily needs.A. Background information· Minimum wage law has a long history since it was first established in the 1935 as stated in the studies of Pollick, (2010).· The New York Department of labor states that as of July 2009, the minimum wage for the New York sate workers was 7.
25 US dollars per hour.B. Thesis statement· Being a college student, with an apartment and school fees, minimum wage is not definitely going to cut it.II. Key point· There is need to raise the minimum wage in New York since the cost of living in New York is higher than in the other states yet its minimum wage is less than the minimum wages in other states.A. Supporting details· The minimum wage in the state of California and Connecticut is 8.0 and 8.
25 US dollars respectively (United States Department of Labor 2010).B. Supporting details· The New York Department of labor states that as of July 2009, the minimum wage for the New York sate workers was 7.25 US dollars per hour (United States Department of Labor 2010).III. Key point· The overall cost of living in the state of New York is higher than the average overall living cost in USA. Supporting details· The overall cost of living in the state of New York is quite high since it is 189.
1 based at the Unites States average at an index of 100.0 (Malieckal 2005)B. Supporting details· Housing in New York is very expensive since it is almost three times more than the national average rates of $ 2, 483.
64 for a months rent of a two bed roomed apartment (Malieckal 2005).IV. Key point· The minimum wage is basically not enough especially for students since they are required pay their college fees in addition to their other needs.A.
Supporting details· Studies of record that college fees increased by 439% from the year 1982 to the year 2007 thus it becomes increasingly hard for students to pay the high amount with the current minimum wage (Lewin 2005).B. Supporting details· It is hard for the lower class income families to afford college fees since even the middle class manage the same through debts (Lewin 2005).V. Conclusion· The minimum wage law is an intervention by the government to help the poor meet their daily needs.· Although different states are supposed to raise it to meet their needs, some states like New York have not raised it to meet the high cost of living.· Students are affected more since on top of having many needs, they usually do not have enough time to work since they are required to attend their lessons.
A. Restatement of thesis· It is quite clear that, being a college student, with an apartment and school fees, minimum wage is not going definitely to cut itB. Concluding statement· As much as there are a lot of controversies concerning the raising of minimum wage, it is definitely among the most important solutions that can help the lower income class citizens.Living in the City of New York is quite a challenge for every one expect for the very rich and those with well paying jobs. As much as life in other states and countries in the world is expensive, New York is ranked among the States with highest cost of living. Considering all the States in America, life in New York is the most expensive and is among the top ten states with the highest cost of living globally. Although the majority of the population is affected by the high cost of living, students are mostly affected since in addition to their daily needs which include rental wages, they are required to pay college fees. They are therefore necessitated to seek part time employment and are forced to work during the summer holidays with an aim earning enough money for survival and to cater for their college fees.
However, since most of them are not fully qualified, they usually fit under the minimum wage group category. According to Labor Law Center (2008), minimum wage is usually defined as the lowest hourly, daily or monthly wage that employers are required by law to pay their employees. Since 1935, the minimum wage in America has been standardized although the idea was generally accepted three years latter. Although there is no mandate to change the law, the members of the congress usually raises request for a change once the need arises. However, history records that it has never been raised above the poverty level of a family of four members with one working adult (Pollick, 2010). Although the law is helpful to the unskilled and the student workers, the money is usually not enough to meet all their needs due to the ever rising high cost of living.
Since the cost of living is different in all the states, the minimum wage is also different. For instance, the New York Department of labor states that as of July 2009, the minimum wage for the New York sate workers was 7.25 US dollars per hour. Nevertheless citizens living in New York, including the students are required to use the amount of money earned to pay for utilities like electricity, gas, food and also the housing expenses. Nevertheless the average cost of living in the state cannot be met with such a low amount of income. Therefore, being a college student, with an apartment and school fees, minimum wage is not definitely going to cut it. Despite the fact that the minimum wage in the state of New York was raised to 7.25 US dollars as United States Department of Labor (2010) states, further increase is still very necessary because there are some states where life is far much less expensive and their minimum wage is usually higher.
For instance, in the state of California, the minimum wage in the year 2008 was 8.0 US dollars while in Connecticut it was it just slightly above that amount (United States Department of Labor 2010). Moreover, studies still record that the minimum wages in such cities is still not enough to meet all the expenses.
Therefore, it is quite clear that without an increment the minimum wage law may not serve the required purpose of assisting the unskilled workers and the students. The overall cost of living in the state of New York is quite high since it is 189.1 based at the Unites States average, at an index of 100.0 (Malieckal 2005).
Moreover, the same studies record that housing is also very expensive since it is almost three times more than the national average rates of $ 2, 483. 64 for a month’s rent of a two bed roomed apartment. Every other necessity in the State of New York like electricity and food is equally expensive. The total amount of money that can be earned by a student through the minimum wage is hardly enough to meet all the above expenses. A college student in New York State has many needs compared to other citizens as on top of meeting the other normal expenses; the student is still required to pay the college fees. If the money cannot be enough to meet the daily needs, paying the high college fees is basically not possible. Studies of Lewin (2005) indicate that college fees especially in New York are on the rise. The same studies record that the fees increased by 439% from the year 1982 to the year 2007.
Consequently, even the middle class families can only manage to educate their children through debt leave alone the poor families. The grant and aids to assist students from the poor families is basically not enough to take care of the college fees. In addition, even though most of the students seek some form of employment, the minimum wage they earn cannot be enough to cater for the tuition fees in colleges and other student expenses. Minimum wage law is among the many interventions in America to help the poor meet their daily needs. Although there is a provision stated by the federal government, different states are allowed to raise their minimum wages in accordance to the living costs in those states.
However, as highlighted previously, some states like New York have got high costs of living and they have not yet raised their minimum wages. As result, those people who are supposed to benefit from the same end up not getting any significant benefit. Students are mostly affected especially due to the fact that on top of paying the high housing costs, they also have to pay the ever rising college fees. They also do not get enough time to work since they must attend their lessons, unlike the other unskilled workers who can afford to work for many hours. Therefore, it is quite clear that, being a college student, with an apartment and school fees, minimum wage is not going definitely to cut it. As much as there are a lot of controversies concerning the raising of minimum wage, it is definitely among the most important solutions that can help the lower income class citizens.
.0.ReferencesLabor Law Center, (2008). Federal Minimum Wage Increase for 2007, 2008, & 2009.
Retrieved on 31st May 2010 from: http://www.laborlawcenter.com/t-federal-minimum-wage.aspxLewin, T., (2005).
College May Become Unaffordable for Most in U.S. Retrieved on 31st May 2010 from: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/education/03college.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1275304995-qw+g30nTqiiwZPFte5OojAMalieckal, G.
, (2005). Cost of Living in New York City. Retrieved on 31st May 2010 from: http://hypertextbook.
com/facts/2005/GeetaMalieckal.shtmlPollick, M., (2010). What is Minimum Wage? Retrieved on 31st May 2010 from: http://www.wisegeek.
com/what-is-minimum-wage.htmUnited States Department of Labor (2010). Minimum Wage Laws in the States. Retrieved on 31st May 2010 from: http://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/america.htm –
