Lit Review

Writing this essay has been quite the battle thus far. Writing an essay can be a bitch to begin with and when the subject is complex and revolutionary, like examining both rational and ethical arguments regarding the minimum wage, the process is even more difficult. Luckily I have come across wonderful sources who have helped inspire my argument and supplement my knowledge of economics and the social issues surrounding it.

The first source I'd like to mention is USC economics professor Mike Sproul. Professor Sproul teaches my International Economic Policy class as well as my Financial Markets class. He's a rough old man, about 6'4" with a grizzly beard that hides the lower half of his face. You wouldn't suspect a man with this unkempt appearence to contain such a wealth of mathematic and economic intelligence. His lectures harken back to the old school: just chalk and blackboard. As a testament to his teaching ability, I would say that Professor Sproul has made my two hardest classes my easiest ones. Professor Sproul is teaching me the most advanced material I have yet to encounter at USC, but his lectures are so thorough, clear, and patient that the subject is easy to absorb. Throughout the course of writing this paper Professor Sproul has been my go to reference, providing me with the evidence necessary to support the fundamental parts of my argument.

The next source I would like to mention is Mark Schweitzer. Dr. Schweitzer is one of leading economic researchers in the world and has published considerable work on the minimum wage in economic journals. Convienently, Dr. Schweitzer conducted a study that measured the effects of shifts in the minimum wage on employees at a fast food chain. The study found that when the minimum wage was raised many employees saw a reduction in their monthly incomes. In order to reduce costs caused by the newly raised wages, the restaurant was forced to cut each employees' hours. The data Dr. Schweitzer collected during this study has been relevant and applicable to my paper.

The other component of my research, the boring part, has been via my Econ 305 textbook. In my discussion of the minimum wage I will need refrence factual information from the textbook and some basic economic principles.

Where I am still struggling though, is in finding sources that contribute to the minimum wage conversation from an insightful ethical and moral perspective. The argument toward not lowering the minmum wage is pretty straight foward and I don't need sources to present it. Nontheless, I would like to find some to contribute to the conversation in some manner.

Thus far, that is where I stand with my paper, "A Modest Proposal: Lowering the Minimum Wage." Hopefully I will effectivley use Dr. Schweitzer and Professor Sproul and incoporate a new source regarding the ethical argument.