09 Jul Minimum Wage vs Universal Basic Income

The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 an hour.  That means that covered workers nationwide must receive $7.25 an hour.  The administration of President Joe Biden is seeking to make $15 the national minimum wage.  But this idea has run into some pushback in Congress.

Federal law allows states and localities to have a higher minimum wage and some places have done just that, increasing their minimum wage to $9 an hour or even an eventual $15 an hour.  But Texas has not mandated a higher minimum wage.  

Sometimes, companies drive a certain minimum wage.  For example, Amazon’s minimum wage is around $15/hour in most of its locations.  When Amazon locates a new facility in a city or town, existing employers are forced to pay more so that their workers don’t leave to work for Amazon. 

But maybe those who want a higher minimum wage should consider Universal Basic Income (UBI) instead.  Instead of raising the minimum wage, people below a certain income threshold would receive guaranteed monthly payments called Universal Basic Income (UBI). 

 Read ALL the articles and look at the video(s) posted below.  Your best strategy is to make notes about the points as you read and watch.  Then address the following bulleted points in order.  Make sure you separate your work into separate paragraphs.  Ideally, you would copy the bullet-points below and answer beneath them.

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• Do you think the national minimum wage should be raised?  What about the minimum wage in Texas?  (Be sure to consider the minimum wage in the year you were born to see the buying power of that wage.)  Certainly, workers would be happy to earn more.  But what are the potential pitfalls at the national level?  At the state level? 
• Consider Universal Basic Income (UBI) as an alternative to the minimum wage.  How would UBI be funded?  In your estimation, what is the minimum household income below which a family should qualify for UBI?  Is this a better national and state solution than raising the minimum wage?  Why or why not?
• Imagine you are a policy analyst working for a think tank.  Would you advise national and state legislators to focus raising the minimum wage?  Or would you suggest Universal Basic Income instead?  Write an introductory paragraph for a report that your staff will produce in which you summarize your argument for raising the minimum wage OR implementing Universal Basic Income (UBI).