Out-Of-Class #2: Another Example

July14, 2014

Out-of-Class 2

MINIMUM WAGE

In wake of government talks about raising minimum wage, students at Michigan State University have begun voicing their opinions on the possible outcomes of such a drastic change.

WE’RE MISSING A NUT GRAF HERE THAT FURTHER DETAILS THE LEDE BEFORE WE GET INTO THE BACKGROUND OF THE ISSUE

According to the Department of Labor, the current minimum wage in the state of Michigan is set at $7.40, while the federal minimum wage remains at $7.25.

In the most recent State of the Union address by President Barack Obama, the idea of raising the federal minimum to $10.10 was spoke about by Obama.

Obama’s administration launched a “Raise the Wage” campaign on the president’s website  WEBSITE IS UPPER CASE, PER AP STYLE that highlights some of the possible benefits that come with raising the minimum wage.

College students feel the impact of such an increase tremendously, as many of them hold down part-time minimum wage jobs as they attend school. Many students on the Michigan State University campus seemed very open to the idea of an increase in their wage. THIS SOUNDS LIKE YOUR NUT GRAF; MOVE IT UP. PLUS, ON SECOND REFERENCE THE ACRONYM OF MSU IS ACCEPTABLE

Joseph Miller, a packing student at Michigan State University, works maintenance at a local golf course in the summer for minimum wage salary. Miller was very receptive to an increase in his wage. HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS? IF IT’S BECAUSE HE TOLD YOU, THEN ADD, HE SAID.

“Imagine being able to make more money over the summer and not having to worry about running out of cash towards the end of the school year,” said Miller.

David Bender, an accountant at Northwood University, SAID HE believes that students do not understand the effects of a rise in minimum wage and that it is much more complicated than just making more or less money. GOOD NEUTRAL EXPERT HERE

“For every action there is a reaction. Raising minimum wage may seem like a good idea on the surface and if there weren’t any repercussions, I would be all for it. However, it’s not that simple,” said Bender.

Bender said that raising the minimum wage will just cause inflation to rise and the average price of goods will rise until the economy returns to the original proportions that it started at.

“Inflation will rise dramatically and someone working a minimum wage job will be stuck in the same boat that they started in,” said Bender.

Many business owners agree with Bender in that they will have to raise their prices in order to make enough income to match the increase in the salary that they will have to pay their workers.

Jon Drury, owner and founder of College Fund Ice Cream, said that he would be unable to meet that requirement and would be forced to either not hire any part-time workers to ease his workload or he would have to pay cash under the table and violate several laws in the process.

“I can’t afford to pay someone a salary over $10.00 an hour. There are days where I don’t even make that much an hour. To think that I will be stuck doing all the work myself over the summer because I cannot afford to pay anyone to help me out is a real bummer,” said Drury.

College Fund Ice Cream was a business created by Drury to help raise money for college. Drury owns and operates a local ice cream service in his hometown over the summer but he said that he might not be able to run his business anymore if this raise goes through.

“I currently have one other employee that is paid at the state minimum wage. I am barely making money as it is. We already have decently high prices right now and if I am forced to raise the prices, I will surely go out of business,” said Drury.

Some students believe that the raise in minimum wage might cause kids to not attend college upon completion of high school. Brandon Bell, a recent graduate from Michigan State University, was somewhat bothered by the thought of a raise in the wage.

“I went to four years of college so that I could eventually make more money than minimum wage. I just got my first job and let me tell you, it doesn’t make that much more than the proposed increase. If they do end up raising the minimum, I am going to seriously reconsider why I even went to college,” said Bell.

It’s tough to tell the outcome of change before anything actually switches but whatever decision is made will leave some students extremely happy while others not so much.

“I just wish money wasn’t an issue in college. I just want to enjoy my time at college and not stress about paying rent. Is that too much to ask for?” said Miller.

References

David Bender. Accountant for Northwood University. (989) 430-5802. bender@northwood.edu

Joseph Miller. Student at MSU. (248) 939- 6116. millerjo@msu.edu

Jon Drury. Former MSU student and business owner. (248) 520- 6111. druryj@msu.edu

Brandon Bell. Former MSU student. (248) 752-2689

ASSIGNMENT GRADE: (redacted)

INSTRUCTOR COMMENTS: GOOD RANGE OF SOURCES, BUT GETTING MULTIPLE STUDENTS, BUSINESS OWNERS AND NEUTRAL EXPERTS ON SUCH A DIVISIVE ISSUE WOULD HELP. PLUS, WHAT ABOUT AN ADVOCATE, LIKE A POLITICIAN PUSHING FOR SUCH AN INCREASE AND ONE AGAINST IT?