Writing Assignment #2

Writing Assignments

Please select only 1 of the following options and answer each of the questions related to that option. Your responses should be thorough and well supported. You are encouraged to use our textbook and the online book for this class, which is called Popular Economyths.

A good, well-reasoned, detailed answer should be at least 1.5 to 2 pages (total) in length (and please do NOT rewrite the questions). You need to answer each of the questions for the option you select.

 

OPTION 1 – The Minimum Wage
 

Since 2009, the national minimum wage has been $7.25 per hour for most occupations in the private sector. Many of those who support an increase in the minimum wage believe this is one way the government could possibly reduce poverty, while its opponents believe that it creates unemployment and hurts low-skilled workers. The following items address the idea of raising the minimum wage from the current federal minimum of $7.25 per hour.

1) Describe who the suppliers and demanders are in the labor market. Is a government-mandated minimum wage a price floor or ceiling? Discuss the effect of a minimum wage law from a supply and demand standpoint, making sure to address the concept of surplus or shortage, and specify what that shortage or surplus is most commonly called in economic terms.

2) Raising the minimum wage will also affect the labor costs of businesses. What is going to happen to the prices these businesses charge for their products? And who is going to be most affected by these price changes, those with low incomes or those with high incomes?

3) Discuss any potential changes in the incentives for low-skilled workers – those who keep their jobs and their hours – to increase their human capital when the minimum wage increases. What about those who lose their jobs or never get hired? Discuss the incentives for employers to substitute capital inputs (technology and automation) for labor.

4) What might be an unintended impact on government spending on entitlements such as welfare, food stamps, and unemployment compensation because of the changes in the minimum wage and its impact on unemployment and underemployment?

5) Do advocates of a minimum wage law believe that workers should be paid based on their output (i.e., performance) or on their level of need? What do opponents of the minimum wage law believe workers’ wages should be based on? Which one is sustainable and why?

For the sake of comparison, how should students be graded in class, based on their performance or level of need?

 

6) Advocates of a minimum wage often believe that employers would “exploit” or “take advantage” of their workers if there were no minimum wage. How would you know if employers are “taking advantage” of their workers if there were no minimum wage? What simple thing could the employee do if they believed they were being exploited?

7) What percentage of American workers get paid
above
minimum wage? In general, why do such workers get paid
more
than the government-mandated minimum wage if employers are supposedly so greedy?

8) Compare and contrast some of the information contained in the three videos:

Obama: “Raise Minimum Wage to $9 an Hour” – SOTU 2013

 

How the Minimum Wage Creates Unemployment

– Note: this video uses an example of a $5 minimum wage as an illustration only. The same exact point could be made with a minimum wage of $7.25, $9, $12.37, or any other amount, so please do not get hung up on the $5 amount. The point is whether or not the government ought to dictate the wages of a private transaction between a willing employee and employer.

We the Internet TV: Pledge for $15

Describe the main points of each video. Which one or two videos do you agree with more from an economic perspective and why? Be specific!

9) Based on your previous responses, do you believe that the minimum wage should be raised, lowered, remain as it currently is, or be altogether eliminated? If you think there should be a minimum wage, how would you arrive at the specific wage? You need to give a thorough reason for your answer. Who should get to decide how much a worker gets paid, the worker and their employer or a politician? WHY?

OPTION 2 – Outsourcing

There has been much talk in recent time about outsourcing and “sweatshops.” Outsourcing is usually defined as occurring when a company chooses to export some of its production to foreign countries. Jobs in which foreign workers work in “sub-standard” conditions and are paid lower wages (than their American counterparts) are typically referred to as “sweatshops.”

1) What are some of the economic reasons why some firms choose to relocate some of their productive facilities to foreign countries?

2) With regards to low- and high-skill laborers, which domestic (American) workers may gain from outsourcing, and which domestic workers might lose? Why is this the case?

3) With respect to the types of products produced by companies that outsource, what effect may outsourcing have on domestic prices of these products?

4) If the US government wanted to reduce outsourcing, what changes in policy could it make to do so?

5) Please watch the following 2 videos regarding “sweatshops.”

Inside Look at Apple’s Chinese Sweatshops!

John Stossel – Sweatshops

Describe the main points of EACH video. What evidence do they present to reach their overall conclusions?

6) After watching the videos, please tell me if “sweatshops” are a good or bad thing for foreign workers? WHY? You need to thoroughly explain your answer.

 

OPTION 4 – “Worker-owned” Businesses
 

Some politicians have recently proposed ideas that would encourage or require more businesses to operate as “co-ops” or “worker-owned” businesses. In such businesses, the workers and the bosses get paid the same amount of money and have an equal say in the management of the business.

1) Do you believe that more businesses should be run in such a manner, as cooperatives in which the owner and employees make roughly the same amount of money?

2) What are the potential drawbacks to the owners of such an idea? What about drawbacks to the workers?

3) If you like the idea of “worker-owned” businesses, should the government require businesses to operate in such a manner? Why or why not?

4) Why do you think some politicians may want to pass laws that would require more businesses to become cooperatives?

5) Please watch the following two videos and answer the following questions.

Capitalism: A Love Story – Workplace Democracy and Cooperatives

Why Capitalism Works

Describe the main points of EACH video. What evidence do they present to reach their overall conclusions?

Which of these two videos makes the most sensible economic conclusions? WHY? Be specific.