Nonfiction Critical Analysis - "Time for a RAISE?"

Nonfiction Critical Analysis

"Time for a RAISE?"

          The article, “Time for a RAISE?” by Patricia Smith, debates on whether increasing the salary on minimum wage jobs is a good or bad thing. The entire text is mostly about how changes in the amount minimum wages affect the minimum wage workers of the United States. Patricia Smith’s overall main idea was that increasing minimum wages is harmful to the economic society. Although Smith was providing information on both sides (pros and cons) of increasing minimum wages, it was obvious that she was discouraging it. The first detail that stood out to me that hinted that Smith was against the increase of minimum wages was when she stated, “The idea faces stiff opposition.” She follows by saying organizations are against a “minimum-wage hike” (an increase in minimum wage) because it causes the employers to increase their costs in business. Also increase of minimum wages results in less employment of workers in order for the employer to be able to afford to pay them more than 40% of their usual salary. This detail is really big because it completely denies the “yes” side of increasing minimum wages. In other words, this detail means, if wages are increased some of the full time workers might not even get paid because they have to get fired for others to get employed as well. Patricia Smith also includes many quotes from many economists and minimum wage workers that enhanced my understanding of her main idea. For instance, Rajeev Dhawan, from Georgia State University, said “[The workers’] hourly [pay] may go up, but their number of hours may come down, so it’s not an overall increase.” The fact that Smith incorporated this quote into her article really improved my comprehension of her main idea because it shows that an increase in minimum wage can actually lower the yearly salary, if not change at all. These details that were included in Smith’s article, supports and connects to her main idea because they clearly prove that she is against the increase of minimum wages.

            Furthermore, the author most likely wants me to think that an increase in minimum wages is an “invalid” move. She wants me to feel that the idea of increasing wages of minimum wage workers is worthless. She uses some unique skills to achieve these thoughts and feelings. For instance, she uses a pie chart/diagram to visually present the minimum wage workers in the United States. The way it works is the chart is divided into three sections; one shows the percentage of teenage minimum wage workers, the second shows the percentage of people in their early twenties that work for minimum wages and the last shows the amount of people that are above twenty-five and work for minimum wages. Smith made me believe that the young minimum wage workers will be impacted greatly with this chart. She stated that “job losses would hit young people especially hard” if minimum wages were increases because more people would be unemployed. The chart illustrates that more than half of the youngsters in the United States work for minimum wages, most likely to pay for college. If these people get unemployed because employers couldn’t hire them because of higher pay, their education life would most likely be stunted. Another craft move, Smith uses is quotes. Quotes are really important because they are the stem of most pieces of evidence. For instance, Simon Rojas, a minimum wage worker in Los Angeles who has higher than average pay says, “It’s very difficult to live off $8.07 an hour… I have to live with my parents. I would like to be able to afford a car and an apartment.” Because it is a little more expensive to live in Los Angeles, Rojas has a salary that is higher than average minimum wage but cannot work full time because more people need to be employed. Rojas is forced to work between twenty and twenty-five hours a week. These craft moves are incorporated by Smith in order to make me think and feel that an increase in minimum wage is a bad thing.

            All in all, I learned a lot from this article. I will take away that the idea of increasing minimum wages is worthless. Patricia Smith and her skills in persuading really made me think and feel that increasing federal minimum wages will make it harder for, not only young adults, but everyone to find a job. She changed my way from thinking from before I even read the article. As soon as I started to analyze her thoughts and ideas, I grew an opinion on the issue: Minimum wage should not be increased for the sake of employment of the amount of people that currently have jobs. What I want to know is how President Obama is dealing with unemployment instead of trying to deal with the people that already have jobs.