Tatiana Pankratova
Essay#1

Throughout history there has always been a social class structure. In these social classes the rich has always ruled over the poor, except when revolutions occurred. According to NYTimes' 2012 study on income, 21.2 percent of New Yorkers are in poverty and that number is only increasing. In April of 2013, governor Cuomo willingly signed a legislation that promised to gradually increase the minimum wage from $7.25 to $9. The set wage will be reached overs the cores of three year, however, minimum tipping will remain as is.

If a person wants to earn more money then they are already earning in their current occupation, he or she should work harder to achieve their desired wage. What makes capitalism differ from communism is the motivation people have to work hard. In the United States capitalist economic system a person will always be able to move up the social latter. While in Russia or the past Soviet Union for example, there is no motivation to work hard because the citizens will receive the same amount of pay for different occupations. Then when the political leaders realize the communist system is not working, they will try to adapt or switch over to capitalist. However, that will not always work since people get used to getting payed every week by the government for not doing much. Minimum wage does not need to be increased, if people would like to earn more money they should start working hard from a young age and get used to the hard work that is required to achieve their goals.

With minimum wage increasing the price for services will also likely increase. CEOs have build their businesses on a strong foundation, as in they created affordable services. The dollar menu at McDonalds, for example, has given civilians food for a cheap price. A man who works 40 hours a week on minimum wage earns $290 a week, not including tips, he can live off the dollar menu making a profit of $248 a week. What also is not fair is that people who live off of minimum wage will not pay taxes as much as someone who gets an average salary. By increasing minimum wage we are telling the youth of our country that it is 'O.K' to not work hard or increase your education, because they will be able to live comfortably without all that hard work. Its not fair to the people who actually try hard in school and go beyond to increase their education. By increasing minimum wage more people from other countries might move to the United States. That’s going to make things worse, because more people will end up homeless due to either laziness or by coming to the United States because of their dreams to become rich. Lets fix the problem here first then move on to other countries. The relationship between minimum wage, consumer goods, and most of the 'dollar' menus is direct. In other words, if minimum wage was increased the price of everyday products will also increase.

How much money you will make in the future is determined by how much education you posses. Education is important in our society because it keeps the country competing with other