TOW #17: "America's Complicated Minimum Wage Argument"

                In an article featured in US News and World Report, Danielle Kurtzleben attempts to address the controversial question of raising American minimum wage standards. With her experience as a business and economics reporter for multiple magazines, Kurtzleben presents all sides of the minimum wage arguments to an upper class audience that most likely knows little about the topic and does not understand how it is relevant to them. Many Americans are fed up with the top “one percent” making outrageous salaries while the lower working class cannot make a living off of their earnings even if they take on two or three jobs at once, but others note that raising their wages could have disastrous economic consequences. Kurtzleben realizes that this issue has not clear solution, and cannot be separated into black and white or right and wrong. She remains neutral throughout the piece, choosing to make her argument not about which stance the audience should take, but about why they should care and think carefully about the debate. By using humor, she is able to convince readers far removed from the issue to actually care about it. At the beginning of each of her points, Kurtzleben poses a possible audience statement and then reacts to it. One paragraph begins “I mean, I make $60,000 a year. It doesn't affect me anyway whether the minimum wage is $9 or $19”, to which she bluntly replies “Please try not to be so fantastically shortsighted”. While this has a chance of offending her audience, it does force them to think more deeply of something they previously thought had no importance to them. She concludes her essay by imitating something an ignorant, privileged person would say: “What a drag”, to which Kurtzleben says “tell that to your McDonald's cashier”. Even though she does not include a stance on the issue itself, I wholeheartedly agree with Kurtzleben’s argument that everyone should be aware of this argument and its repercussions in society. Both socially and economically, minimum wage laws impact our country in huge ways that, as informed members of society, all Americans should be aware of.