Minimum wages contrast, El Paso vs. Cd.

Juarez

Community Problem: Minimum wages contrast, El Paso vs. Cd. Juarez

Ruben Esteban Bolado Garcia

Professor: Saul Hernandez

RWS MWF: 12:30 1:20

The University of Texas at El Paso

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Minimum wages contrast, El Paso vs. Cd. Juarez
Abstract

The minimum wage is lowest payrate allowed by the Federal Government to

national companies and since it exists it has caused a lot of controversy between

workers. The minimum wage is supposed to be enough for a person to live in decency

but economy changes, prices inflate and, at the end of the day, the minimum wage

comes short.

In this article we are going to talk about how inflation has affected the way we live

based on our salaries that do not grow according to the constant rise of prices also

putting into perspective the nearest neighbor of the United States, Mexico. The main

stage of contrast will be the El Paso Cd. Juarez region where you can instantly notice

the difference between economies.

Several articles offer detailed points of view in how the minimum wage should

rise or stay the same and how much money an average person needs to live a decent

life, especially If the person has dependents.

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Minimum wages contrast, El Paso vs. Cd. Juarez
Mexicos vs USAs minimum wage

To begin with this comparison, we have to understand that the United States are

on a very different economic position than Mexico. USA is seen as a first world country;

this is defined as a capitalist country with a lot of industries and Mexico is usually

catalogued as a third world or developing country. Being said that, it can be told from

here that there are going to be some major differences between the wages paid to their

workers.

Mexico has a minimum wage, as of 2017, of 80.04 pesos for a working day

(Forbes, 2017) of approximately 8 hours, that converted to US dollars is 5 dollars for 8

hours of work. As shocking as it sounds, it is the truth, working in Mexico pays very little

money. In Mexico poverty is a very severe problem; with almost 50% of the total

population living amongst poverty lines, the social class gaps grows larger as years go

by and it does not look like improving in a while. Mexican government is widely known

because of its corruption; corruption costs to Mexico at least 100,000 million dollars a

year.

The United States economy is very different compared to Mexicos. Mexico is

very far behind of the U.S. in terms of industrialization, industry in the U.S. is very

developed while industry in Mexico is in its developing stages; a lot of the main

industries in Mexico consist of manufacturers, since they charge very small amounts of

money compared to other more developed countries like the U.S. that pays to its

workers in an hour more than Mexicans earn in a day and a half. This is one of the

reasons a lot of foreign countries establish in Mexican land and make their businesses

grow and take more advantage of the money they spend.

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Minimum wages contrast, El Paso vs. Cd. Juarez
With everything said, we must also notice that Mexican people do not pay for a

coffee the same amount of money an American would pay for the exact same product;

mainly because since they have to pay more to their employees, many of the products

sold in the United States are very expensive, for example, comparing locally, a

Starbucks cup of coffee ranges from 5 to 7 dollars, while in Mexico it ranges from 2 to 4

dollars lets say. It is extremely cheaper in some products like food and other supplies,

but also there are other products, such as electronics and clothes, that are cheaper than

their Mexican equivalents and this is due to the different importation fees each country

has. So a person can live for less money in Mexico, that is most importantly why

Mexicans are able to survive with such low wages. Also in the United States there are

much more expensive needs such as health care, which is free in Mexico. Its also

worth mentioning that despite all this costs Americans have to face, its is more adjusted

to the salary they have, but still not enough to decently live; this gives us a glimpse at

the quality of life Mexicans earning the minimum wage experience, because even with

the incredibly cheap (almost one half or less the cost) products, Mexicans earn way

more less than Americans (less than one sixth) and normally have more numerous

families.

An average adult in the United States needs 28 thousand dollars a year to live a

decent life, the minimum wage provides 15 thousand dollars, so you need a little less

than two minimum wages to decently live. In Mexico, you earn 1300 dollars a year but

you need 3000 to decently live. You need 3 full time jobs in Mexico to live.
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Minimum wages contrast, El Paso vs. Cd. Juarez
Conclusion

While its a very different economy and therefore a different context totally

amongst the minimum wage workers, one can observe why protesters rise up to get a

better wage. Human beings have the right to have a decent life and a minimum wage

raise, with all of its consequences, would be nothing but fair in both Mexico and U.S.A.

and although it seems very difficult, the society has a history of fighting for what they

want.
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Minimum wages contrast, El Paso vs. Cd. Juarez
References

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The American Economic Review, 85(2), 238-243. Retrieved March 20, 2017, from

http://www.jstor.org/stable/2117925

Brown, C., Gilroy, C., & Kohen, A. (1982). The Effect of The Minimum Wage on

Employment and Unemployment. Journal of Economic Literature, 20(2), 487-528.

Retrieved March 20, 2017, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2724487

Murray, C. H. (2017, March 11). A $15 minimum wage benefits Baltimore business.

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UC Davis Center for Poverty Research. (2014). Retrieved April 05, 2017, from

http://poverty.ucdavis.edu/faq/what-are-annual-earnings-full-time-minimum-wage-worker

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Retrieved April 05, 2017, from

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Minimum wages contrast, El Paso vs. Cd. Juarez
http://eleconomista.com.mx/industrias/2015/10/03/salario-minimo-que-no-alcanza-

costo-vida-mexico

Gaia, N. (n.d.). Un salario mnimo que no alcanza para el costo de la vida en Mxico.

Retrieved April 05, 2017, from http://eleconomista.com.mx/industrias/2015/10/03/salario-

minimo-que-no-alcanza-costo-vida-mexico