A just society should ensure all workers receive a minimum living wage.

I am for the statement that ‘A just society should ensure all workers receive a minimum living wage. ’ Prelude: Different countries and areas have different numerical values for a minimum wage. In this debate, we will not be arguing for a specific minimum wage value, as can be seen from the resolution, but from a mostly philosophical view that it is moral or right for all workers to receive a minimum living wage. This should clear up any issues both Con and or the audience may have had. As following the agreed-upon round structure, I shall make my points now and await my next round for rebuttals. Contentions: C1) Jobs Would a just society allow citizens, who are ready and willing to work but are without qualifications, to go by- without a salary, a way to provide for themselves? Jobs with less skills and qualifications necessary are usually minimum wage jobs. Although these workers don’t earn much, they are able to get a job! Employers can afford to pay workers, who otherwise wouldn’t be able to get a job because of a lack of a degree, connections, or advanced skills. Through these jobs, workers gain an opportunity to learn valuable skills and acquire hands on working experience, to compete for even better jobs, or advance within a company. C1B) Increase in jobs With these workers employed, there is a reduction in unemployment. Without minimum wage jobs, these people wouldn’t have this opportunity. At least, with these workers employed, their labour can be used productively, instead of resorting to illegal methods to obtain living conditions or giving up completely. “In the monopsony model, employers are unlikely to pay higher wages in order to fill vacancies because they would then have to raise the pay of their existing workers to match the pay offered to their last hire. As a result, in monopsonistic settings, employers habitually operate with unfilled vacancies, rather than raising the wage for their entire workforce. In this context, raising the minimum wage can actually increase employment by raising the wages of the existing workforce to the "competitive" level (no existing jobs are lost because these workers were being paid below their "marginal product") and filling existing vacancies (which increases overall employment). ”[1] Therefore minimum living wages creates jobs, or fills job vacancies, thereby reducing the unemployment rate and raising the quality of life and standard of living. Would it then be just for workers to not be paid minimum living wages? C2) Character Growth As said before, people working for minimum living wages don’t earn much, and usually have no other profession to resort to. Therefore, they value it a lot- they would work more, come in for extra time to try to make more money, and try to develop closer relationships with fellow workers. These people benefit from learning about the experience of hands-on work, independence, reliability, accountability, assiduous labour and responsibility. ‘Today’s job market is extremely competitive and demands the most from jobseekers. Particularly for students, a minimum wage job provides a great opportunity to prepare for the challenges they will face searching for their ideal career aftergraduation. To get ahead one has to be assertive and a minimum wage job provides a chance to do that. ’[2] Therefore, the jobs attained with a minimum wage offer character growth. Would it not be fair to allow workers to benefit from character growth attained by the minimum wage? C3) Narrowing the rich-poor gap - Helping low-income families Poor families have a way of making money, by minimum wage, though it may not be much. This wage, added on to the income that breadwinners may attain, may help provide for the family. Minimum wage alleviates poverty, worker are able to gain an income. Now the poor have a chance at obtaining an income, no matter how small it is. Moreover, more money is generated into the economy since low income families are able to spend more. Also, this shrinks government programs e. g. food stamps, thereby allowing the reallocation of resources elsewhere. If people work hard, should they not be paid at least the minimum wage to be able to provide for themselves, and maybe their family? C4) Egalitarianism and Utilarianism ‘Egalitarianism is a trend of thought in political philosophy. An egalitarian favours equality of some sort: People should get the same, or be treated the same, or be treated as equals, in some respect. An alternative view expands on this last-mentioned option: People should be treated as equals, should treat one another as equals, should relate as equals, or enjoy an equality of social status of some sort. Egalitarian doctrines tend to rest on a background idea that all human persons are equal in fundamental worth or moral status. ’[3] ‘The principle of utility [Utilarianism] is used to determine the validity of rules of conduct (moral principles). A rule like promise-keeping is established by looking at the consequences of a world in which people broke promises at will and a world in which promises were binding. ’[4] By the laws of egalitarianism- that all people are equal- these workers should be given a wage for their work. By Utilarianism, it is *just* that these people get paid, if they are going to put in their labour, working. If they are paid, they can afford the basic necessities and generate money into the economy to stimulate it. Why should we NOT allow these people to get an income? Why should we prevent someone who is WILLING to work to establish a way to support himself? C5) John Rawls- The Principles of Justice as Fairness (Rawls’s name for the set of principles) “[The veil of ignorance] assures that each party to the choice is equally or symmetrically situated, with none enjoying greater power (or “threat advantage”) than any other . .. It also isolates the parties’ choice from the contingencies—the sheer luck—underlying the variations in people’s natural abilities and talents, their social backgrounds, and their particular society’s historical circumstances. ”[5] -First Principle: Rights and Liberties ‘Society must assure each citizen “an equal claim to a fully adequate scheme of equal basic rights and liberties, which scheme is compatible with the same scheme for all. ”’[5] -Difference Principle: Income and Wealth “Social and economic inequalities … are to be to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged members of society. ” [5] From the First Principle, we can see that it is just for each citizen to gain their equal rights – the right to a job, of their choice. ‘What you reap, you sew. ’ [6] If these workers are using their physical and mental capacities to provide a labour force for their employers, they should be paid for their efforts. “The … informal argument for the difference principle: because equality is an ideal fundamentally relevant to the idea of fair cooperation, the OP situates the parties symmetrically and deprives them of information that could distinguish them or allow one to gain bargaining advantage over another. Given this set-up, the parties will consider the situation of equal distribution a reasonable starting point in their deliberations. .. [Instituting] a system of social rules that differentially reward the especially productive, could achieve results that are better for everyone … This is the kind of inequality that the Difference Principle allows and requires: departures from full equality that make some better off and no one worse off. ”[5] In other words, The Difference Principle allows those who are less advantaged to become better off, but no one becomes worse off. In conclusion, it is of my firm belief that a just society should ensure all workers receive a minimum living wage. It is fair as the employees, employers, society and the economy benefit. Moreover, from a philosophical egalitarian view- using Utilarianism and John Rawls’ Principles of Justice as Fairness. Sources: [1]- . http://www.cepr.net... [2]- . http://theundercurrent.org... [3]- . http://plato.stanford.edu... [4]- . http://caae.phil.cmu.edu... [5]- . http://www.iep.utm.edu... [6]- Proverb . http://papers.ssrn.com...