Abolition of the minimum wageIncrease, decrease or abolish the minimum wage; what is best for our citizens and our economy? The minimum wage was put in place to help unskilled workers earn a living, but over time the value of the minimum wage has fallen. In my research paper, I will provide knowledge about minimum wage such as history, purpose, benefits and results. I will also present the pros and cons of abolishing the minimum wage and increasing/decreasing the minimum wage. The minimum wage was initially implemented in 1938 in the Fair Labor Standards Act setting an hourly wage rate at 25 cents. Over the years, this amount has been increased several times and was recently increased to $7.25 per hour. Between adjustment periods and rising inflation, the real value or minimum wage has decreased. The minimum wage was supposed to help poor, young, less-skilled workers, but instead put these workers out of work. This resulted from business owners thinking it wasn't worth hiring someone to do something worth less than what they were paying them. The minimum wage ended up reducing jobs, which reduces the work experience of employees, which affects the economy. The minimum wage is a floor price, creating a surplus of labor. When workers work for less than the minimum wage, they are working “under the table,” which is illegal. Abolishing the minimum wage would have a significant impact on both the employee and the business owner, and would have an overall effect on the economy. The abolition of the minimum wage would greatly benefit the employee. This would give unskilled and unskilled workers, such as teenagers, students, interns and part-time workers, the opportunity to be hired, without discrimination or ranking...... middle of paper .. .... our freedom to decide what salary we want to offer or accept. Works Cited Elwell, Craig. “The real minimum wage”. Inflation and the real minimum wage: a fact sheet. (2013): no. page. Internet. October 22, 2013. .Messerli, Joe. "Should the minimum wage be abolished (i.e. reduced to $0.00)?."BalancedPolitics.org. No. Internet. October 22, 2013. minimum_wage.htm>. Patterson, Steve, producer. “The Truth About Minimum Wage.” YouTube, 2012. Web. October 22, 2013. Tucker, Irvin B. “Investigating the Economy.” Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning of the Southwest. 2008. Watkins, Don. “To protect the defenseless, we must abolish the minimum wage.” Forbes.Np, March 27, 2013. Web. October 22, 2013.2013/03/27/to-protect-the-defenseless-we-need-to-abolish-the-minimum-wage/>.