Showing posts with label Ethics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ethics. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Cyberbullying, Hate Speech and Democracy

...vis-à-vis Kowalski v. Berkeley County School.


The following is a paper, produced for a media law and ethics class on a chosen court case related to the class text. The paper and presentation represents 1/3 of the final grade for the class. This afternoon the presentation was presented, both it and the paper received glowing remarks from the professor.
Despite the grade for the paper not yet being received (should happen in a about a week), based on her remarks, we'll call this an "A" paper (anticipating at least a 95% based on the notes on the paper).
[*update 11/25: The paper received a 100%, the presentation 92%, for a weighted total grade of 97.36%]
Personally, the paper is pretty damn good and chock-full of goodness.... But you be the judge...

You can download it here if it makes it easier to read as a .pdf on a mobile device: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0L6-YMPxtu7bE1kRWM2VV9RQjg/view?usp=sharing

or read it here:

Kowalski v. Berkeley County School, Cyberbullying and Hate Speech Legislation

Due in part to the proliferation of digital communication over the years, there has been growing concern over free speech and free expression in relations to First Amendment rights and cyberbullying. “Cyberbullying” can be defined as communication conduct employing technology devices used to cause emotional stress and fear[1] in a way that is “[meant] to intentionally harm [or embarrass] others”. Cyberbullying is acted out using “hostile behavior such as sending [disparaging] text messages and posting ugly comments on the internet.”[2] Cyberbullying also includes a range of online conducts, including any communication that is meant to instill hatred in the hearts and minds of others, or humiliate or damage a victim’s reputation. Despite the damaging nature of cyberbullying, it has yet to be labeled hate speech in the United States, which in most cases is protected under the First Amendment[3]. However, in over a hundred and seventy five countries, many of them democratic, hate speech is a crime and punishable by law.[4]
            The First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law […] prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech”. However, there are caveats to this, such as incidents relating to clear and present danger, obscenity, incitement of violence, libel/defamation, and fighting words[5]. Additionally, free speech is subject to restrictions dictated by time, place, and manner. A new frontier of litigation based on inalienable rights has begun to spawn thanks to the internet, where the protections of the First Amendment are being applied to the World Wide Web.                   
In recent years, the instances of cases in the United States involving internet harassment, cyberbullying and hate speech have increased. Until recently,[6] appeals have been unsuccessful in reaching the Supreme Court, most cases ending at appeals in the lower courts of law.
One of the latest civil case that was unsuccessful in gaining an appeal through the Supreme Court was Kowalski v. Berkeley County Schools 652 F.3d 565 (2012). Kowalski v. Berkeley made it to the United States Court of Appeals of the Fourth Circuit in the North District of West Virginia, but was not granted petition for writ of certiorari when she tried to appeal her case to Supreme Court.
Kowalski took legal action against the school district through the District Court, citing the First and Fourteenth Amendment, for disciplinary measures related to the creation of a 2007 group webpage created on the online social networking site MySpace. The MySpace group page was generated as a platform to encourage other students, along with Kowalski, to embarrass and/or defame a fellow classmate. The short-lived online group was called S.A.S.H. – an alleged acronym for “Students Against Shay's Herpes”. After school authorities were alerted to the nature and scope of the webpage, the Musselman High School senior was suspended from school for ten days and from all school activities for ninety days, in which she was not a principle participant.
The Plaintiff, Kara Kowalski, filed suit under civil rights law 42 U.S.C. § 1983 – a civil action for deprivation of [Constitutional] rights. In her petition, Kowalski asserted “that the School District [Defendant] was not justified in regulating her speech because it did not occur during a ‘school related activity,’ but rather was ‘private out-of-school speech’”[7]. Second to the infringement on free expression, Kowalski sought redress due to infliction of “emotional distress” due to “social isolation”, which allegedly resulted in depression and a subsequent need for medication. The Defendants responded by filing for a dismissal and summary judgment. In turn, the court granted summary judgment on the free speech matter.
During the proceedings, the District Court established that Kowalski was fully aware of Berkeley County School’s statute related to bullying, which was outlined in the School Code of Conduct, and therefore upheld the disciplinary action by the school. The District Court contended that the speech disrupted the environment of the school, negatively impacting the learning environment. Finding no breech of First Amendment rights and no grounds for “emotional distress”, the summary judgment by the District Court held in favor of the Defendant.
Kowalski then moved to appeal the decision of the U.S. Fourth Circuit Appellate Court.  She petitioned on the same grounds that the speech in question took place “out-of-school”, and therefore the resulting discipline was unwarranted and caused undue emotional harm.
The Fourth Circuit reviewed the case and upheld the summary judgment of the district court under case law established by applying Tinker et al v. Des Moines Independent Community School District et al 393 U.S. 503, 506 (1969). In the earlier case it was established that free speech in school was only protected as far as it was not disruptive, and that “school administrators have some latitude in regulating student speech to further educational objectives”.  Further, in the published verdict it was established that “a court could determine that speech originating outside of the schoolhouse gate, but directed at persons in school and received by and acted on by them, was in fact in-school speech.”[8] The Fourth Circuit also applied the Sixth District judgment from  Lowery v. Euverard, which established the duty of school administrations to foster “safe school environment[s] conducive to learning”. [9]
Based on this, the School District was within its legal right to discipline Kowalski for the aggressive online behavior. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the judgment of the District Court that Kowalski had sufficiently disrupted the learning environment, which negated her First Amendment rights. Therefore, the Fourth Circuit stood by all rulings made by the lower court. Following the judgment by the Fourth Circuit, Kowalski petitioned the Supreme Court for an appeal. However, the court denied her petition for certiorari, therefore all judgments established by the District Court and the Fourth Circuit Court stand.
Precedent for future lawsuits related to cyberbullying will likely be established by the judgment made in Kowalski v. Berkeley County Schools. Most cases involving adolescents and school discipline related to free speech issues have been known to summon Tinker to determine the level of First Amendment protection.[10] In regards to free speech rights among adolescents, now both in and outside of school, disruption or interference takes primacy over the protection granted to what can be termed by some as “offensive speech”. This is largely in part due to proliferation of social media and the broad community reach aided by the internet. Other cases regarding free expression and students have also generally applied standards set forth by cases such as Bethel Sch. Dist. No. 403 v. Fraser, 478 U.S. 675 (1986), in which a student used “obscene” language and “graphic sexual metaphor” during a school assembly[11].
There is a growing amount of litigation related to electronic communication and cyberbullying in the United States. This can be attributed to the prevalence of ownership of electronic devices such as smartphones and tablets among adolescence[12].
Historically, there has been numerous court cases related to the First Amendment, however, litigation due to cyberbullying is relatively new compared to traditional bullying; until recently there have been very few legal cases related to this problem. In most, if not all cases, First Amendment rights were invoked as a defense by the perpetrator. The matter of cyberbullying is not a behavior limited to the youth, but increasingly by adults. The new era of technology takes workplace bullying and relationship issues, where there is often threats and perceived intent to harm, into cyberspace. According to the Workplace Bullying Institute, thirty-five percent of adults report being bullied at work[13]. A study by Pew Internet Research found that forty percent of adults have experienced harassment online indicative of cyberbullying, varying from name calling, to purposeful intention to embarrass, to physical threats, sexual harassment and stalking[14]. While the cases of adult cyberbullying are more rare than those involving adolescent, an upcoming Supreme Court Case Elonis v. United States[15] will consider the case in relation to the First Amendment. Using the judgment of Virginia v. Black[16], Elonis v. United States is set to establish increase legislative guidance regarding adults and harassment or bullying online. Among other things, the Elonis case involves the legal precedent of perceived online threats as protected free expression. According to Adam Liptak of The New York Times, the ruling of the Supreme Court could have a significant impact on future prosecutions related to electronic communication.[17]
Cyberbullying laws have been in existence for less than ten years. The first state cyberbullying statute came out of Missouri in response to the famous case of Megan Meier, a girl who committed suicide after being bullied online by a classmate’s mother. The resulting lawsuit, United States v. Drew[18], set an example for future state laws. As of September 2014, forty-nine states* and the District of Columbia have bullying laws in place. Of those states, forty-eight include “electronic harassment” and twenty of them include “cyberbullying” with three additional states currently proposing laws. Several instances of cyberbullying that resulted in the suicide of the victims also inspired bills such as “The Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act” (Missouri); “Pheobe’s Law” (Massachusetts); and “Act Toward Bullying Prevention” (Vermont)[19].
On the Federal level, there exists no exact bullying laws; however, there has been a proposed Federal law regarding “cyberbullying” since 2009. Additionally, “internet harassment” law, which includes sanctions related to bullying under Section 875 of the U.S. Code, stipulates that threats of harm communicated directly by any means is a criminal act[20]. These laws illustrate a clear trend toward curtailing the scope of the First Amendment, both online and off-line.
Cyberbullying is hateful by nature and is not just about the insecurities of the bully, or any of the many reasons people are purported to bully, nor is it purely about power and intimidation over peer-groups. Sometimes bullying is often directed towards those perceived as “different” from others, such as is related to race/ethnicity, gender, religious affiliation, and sexual preference[21]. Cyberbullying and hate speech are synonymous topics in academic writing, and are often combined under similar legislation in other countries. While hate speech is harder to define than cyberbullying, it can be established through definition alone that cyberbullying and hate speech are of similar ilk, and they can be used interchangeably in reference to regulations and law in the United States and around the world. Trends around the world have been towards eradicating, or in the very least discouraging, all manner of hate speech and (cyber)bullying.
In the realm of jurisprudence, cyberbullying becomes a matter of ethics[22] versus law, as cyberbullying blurs the line between hate speech and free expression, that of human rights versus civil rights. Regulating hate speech has become commonplace among developed countries under human rights authority.[23] As Webb states in Verbal Poison-Criminalizing Hate Speech, Canada may have what appears the most balanced position related to human rights and democratic rights of free speech. Canada’s criminal code states that “identifiable groups [are] protected [including] those based on race, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, disability, and conviction for which a pardon has been granted”[24]. This criminal code also allows for providing provisions for things such as truth, public benefit, or interest, and good faith based on religious grounds; as with in the United States, Canada’s Supreme Court considers the cases. In terms of cyberbullying, as with bullying, activities such as criminal harassment, uttering threats, and intimidation are classified as Criminal Code offenses[25]. Like with state legislation, provincial statues are more prevalent in relation to their federal/governmental law.
Germany’s hate law protects against libelous, disparaging, and otherwise defamatory or damaging speech, including that related to the deceased, with provisions against malicious speech inciting animosity based of nationality, race, religion, or ethnicity.[26] Australia, United Kingdom, South Africa, France and the Scandinavia countries have anti-hate speech legislation, some as far back as the late 1800’s, like Singapore, each with levels of regulation, but regulation nonetheless. According to Felman, in Hate Speech and Democracy, this makes the United States “an outlier among advanced democracies”, where “dignity describes an individual's assurance that he or she fully belongs to the society and will be treated respectfully, as a political and legal equal” – this brings to mind tenants of Democracy. Other countries follow suit with similar statutes as Canada loosely related to cyberbullying but “do not have stand-alone offences”[27] like many states in the United State - rather they have laws similar to Canada, such as is the case with the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.
While there is less top-down regulation, the growing number of school districts, cities, and states/provinces, indicates a bottom-up attempt to address cyberbullying. Some schools have even created online awareness campaigns and courses like “Understanding and Addressing Bullying”, such is the case with one school in California[28]. Moreover, these actions illustrate a clear worldwide acknowledgment of the growing issue of cyberbullying and hateful speech.
Among the concerns in public debate, outside of the First Amendment implications on free expression, are the ethical, social and emotional consequences[29] related to cyberbullying and hate speech abound, due to the innate aggressive nature of bullying. According to some studies, there is a clear distinction between offline and online bullying, and therefore this warrants not only further research but also special consideration in prevention of such behavior.[30]
With any perceived impediment on Constitutional rights, there is a vast range of public and legal arguments. The primary argument of the opponents of anti-bullying legislation is that anti-bullying or anti-cyberbullying legislation fosters the “chill effect” created by the regulations[31]. They feel that this perceived chill effect prohibits students, and adults, from feeling that they can freely express themselves and their ideas. Proponents of these legislations may argue on what can be interpreted as ethical grounds. This ethical standpoint is related to the encouragement of a healthy society in which tolerance of hatred, harassment, and bullying is damaging and one where it “manifesting bigoted views [impairing] progress towards being socially well-ordered” which Simpson attests, vis-à-vis Waldren, “is something the law can intervene in and counteract.”[32]
The main issue that evolves from the legal protection of damaging behavior under the pretense of First Amendment rights is the idea that all unpopular opinions have an underlying value to them, and are therefore worth protection. In fact, those that protect hatred of groups of people, or a single person, based on any natural quality, is not valuable to a Democratic society, as earlier illustrated by Felman, from ethical standpoints. Those who protect hate and bullying under the guise of protecting “diverse opinions” would better be suited acknowledging how it infringes of the victim’s right to dignity and “how contributes to (identity-based) [damaging] social hierarchies”[33]. Reflecting on the work of Heyman, Simpson contends that hate speech and cyberbullying are a violation, and such behavior diminishes social standing and inflicts harm on the target. As Webb asserts, “hate speech regulation [and thereby bullying regulation] is consistent with the democratic principles of maintaining order, promoting equality, and protecting minority groups. Permitting hate speech […] actually works to counter these principles.”[34] To further contextualize the point, the “right to freedom of speech [carries] with it a responsibility not to jeopardise [sic] or undermine, in one’s speech, the civic bonds that hold society together.”[35]
When applied to the cyberworld, what holds true in the “real world” so shall it be online. The World Wide Web, long been touted as a new frontier to Democracy, is not exempt from the tenants put in place by regional, national and global laws, or agreed upon rules of ethics and morals. In the real world, unethical behavior (generally) has consequences – both legal and non-legal. First Amendment rights have never been absolute; such is the case with caveats relating to ‘clear and present danger’, and ‘fighting words’. Additionally, ‘libel’ is not a protected form of speech. Libel can be seem as closely aligned with acts of bullying and hate speech, as libel is also damaging and degrades the “widely-shared understanding and acceptance among the populace of the status-respect that we all owe, and are owed, as fellow members of society”.[36]
Alas, as Slagle[37] contends, what is left is the question of who gets to decide. By ethical standards, the principles of utilitarianism can be applied. What is a benefit to the most people? Based on democratic principles, less bullying, less hatred, less aggressive discourse is more beneficial to society as a whole than not, by the sheer lack of value in cyberbullying. The answer then is in the ethics and morals, as many other countries have contented by enacting laws to prevent behavior that is damaging to their societies. As far as the future of cyberbullying legislation in the United States, we have but to wait and see. What will emerge will be up to the Court’s interpretation based on longstanding First Amendment rhetoric and previous court judgments. It may not reflect the benefits of society and Democracy, but rather the longstanding tradition of primacy towards “protected” rights of the individual. Nor is it likely that the ethical implications of the matter will be in built into the framework. What can be said is that judgments on cases such as Kowalski v. Berkeley County Schools will be key in raising the bar.


Footnotes:
[1] National White Collar Crime Center. Cyber-Bullying The Legislative ResponseNational White Collar Crime Center.
[2] "Cyber Bullying Law & Legal Definition." Cyber Bullying Law & Legal Definition.
[3] Packard, Ashley. "Sex and Violence." Digital Media Law. 2nd ed. N.p.: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013. 330. Print.
Packard’s definition of hate speech is “communication that disparages individuals or groups on the basis of characteristics such as ethnicity, race, religion or sexual orientation”.
[4] See 3
[5] Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, 315 U.S. 568 (1942) “offensive, derisive or annoying word[s] to any other person who is lawfull in any street or public place. . . with intent to deride, offend or annoy him.” via Webb, Thomas J. "Verbal Poison - Criminalizing Hate Speech: A Comparative Analysis and a Proposal for the American System.
[6] Elonis v. U.S. is set to go before the Supreme Court in 2015
[7] Kowalski v. Berkeley County Schools, 652 F.3d 565 (4th Cir. 2011)
[8] Tinker v. des Moines Indep. Community Sch. Dist. 393 US 503 (1969)
[9] Lowery v. Euverard 497 F.3d 584 (6th Cir. 2007)
[10] J.S. v. Blue Mountain School District (2011 & 2012), Doninger v. Niehoff (2011), People v Marquan M. (2014)
[11] "BETHEL SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 403 v. FRASER." Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser. Chicago-Kent College of Law
[12] National White Collar Crime Center. Cyber-Bullying The Legislative ResponseNational White Collar Crime Center.
[13] Namie, Gary. "2010 & 2007 U.S. Workplace Bullying Surveys WBI-Zogby."Workplace Bullying Institute (n.d.): n. pag. Workplace Bullying Institute.
[14] Duggan, Maeve. Pew Research Centers Internet American Life Project.
[15] "Elonis v. United States." SCOTUSblog. Supreme Court of the United States
[16] Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343, 123 S. Ct. 1536, 155 L. Ed. 2d 535 (2003)
[17] Liptak, Adam. "Supreme Court's Robust New Session Could Define Legacy of Chief Justice." The New York Times.
[18] 259 F.R.D. 449 (C.D. Cal. 2009)
* Montana is the exception
[19] See 12
[20] See 12
[21] "Why Do People Bully?" Bullying Statistics. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.
[22] Slagle, Mark. "An Ethical Exploration of Free Expression and the Problem of Hate Speech."
[23] Webb, Thomas J. "Verbal Poison - Criminalizing Hate Speech: A Comparative Analysis and a Proposal for the American System
[24] See 22/Canadian Criminal Code § 319
[25] Report to the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Ministers Responsible for Justice and Public Safety.
[26] See 12
[27] See 25
[28] Repa, Barbara Kate. "E-Cruelty: Cyberbullying in California." California Lawyer (2013): n. pag. E-Cruelty: Cyberbullying in California.
[29] Law, Danielle M., Jennifer D. Shapka, José F. Domene, and Monique H. Gagné. "Are Cyberbullies Really Bullies? An Investigation of Reactive and Proactive Online Aggression."
[30] See 29
[31] Hayward, John O. "Anti-Cyber Bullying Statutes: Threat to Student Free Speech."
[32] Simpson, Robert Mark. "Dignity, Harm and Hate Speech." Law and Philosophy
[33] See 32
[34] See 25
[35] See 32
[36] See 32
[37] See 23

Resources:
"Cyber Bullying Law & Legal Definition." Cyber Bullying Law & Legal Definition. N.p., n.d.
Web. 11 Oct. 2014. <http://definitions.uslegal.com/c/cyber-bullying/>.
"Why Do People Bully?" Bullying Statistics. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.
Duggan, Maeve. Pew Research Centers Internet American Life Project. Rep. N.p., 22 Oct. 2014.
"Elonis v. United States." SCOTUSblog. Supreme Court of the United States, n.d. Web.
Feldman, Stephen M. "Hate Speech and Democracy." Criminal Justice Ethics 32.1 (2013): 78
90. Taylor & Francis. 21 Mar. 2013. Web. 11 Oct. 2014.
e20#.VDm-FPldWSY>.
Hayward, John O. "Anti-Cyber Bullying Statutes: Threat to Student Free Speech." Cleveland
State Law Review 59.1 (2011): n. pag. Cleveland State University. Web. 7 Oct. 2014. <http://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1032&context=clevstlrev>.
Hinduja, Sameer, and Justin W. Patchin. State Cyberbullying Laws A Brief Review of State
Cyberbullying Laws and Policies. Cyberbullying Research Center, July 2010. Web. 8 Oct. 2014. <http://www.cyberbullying.us/Bullying_and_Cyberbullying_Laws.pdf>. Update September 2014
Law, Danielle M., Jennifer D. Shapka, Shelley Hymel, Brent F. Olson, and Terry Waterhouse.
"The Changing Face of Bullying: An Empirical Comparison between Traditional and Internet Bullying and Victimization." Computers in Human Behavior 28.1 (2012): 226-32.ScienceDirect. Elsevier, 1 Oct. 2011. Web. 10 Oct. 2014. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S074756321100197X>.
Law, Danielle M., Jennifer D. Shapka, José F. Domene, and Monique H. Gagné. "Are
Cyberbullies Really Bullies? An Investigation of Reactive and Proactive Online Aggression." Computers in Human Behavior 28.2 (2012): 664-72. Are Cyberbullies Really Bullies? An Investigation of Reactive and Proactive Online Aggression. 12 Dec. 2011. Web. 4 Oct. 2014. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563211002573>.
Liptak, Adam. "Supreme Court's Robust New Session Could Define Legacy of Chief
Justice." The New York Times. The New York Times, 04 Oct. 2014. Web. 09 Oct. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/05/us/supreme-courts-robust-new-session-could-define-legacy-of-chief-justice.html?_r=0>.
Namie, Gary. "2010 & 2007 U.S. Workplace Bullying Surveys WBI-Zogby."Workplace
Bullying Institute (n.d.): n. pag. Workplace Bullying Institute. Web. 24 Oct. 2014. <http://www.workplacebullying.org/multi/pdf/survey_flyer.pdf>.
National White Collar Crime Center. Cyber-Bullying The Legislative ResponseNational White
Collar Crime Center. N.p., July 2013. Web. 6 Oct. 2014. <http://www.nw3c.org/docs/research/cyber-bullying.pdf?sfvrsn=6>.
Packard, Ashley. "Sex and Violence." Digital Media Law. 2nd ed. N.p.: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013.
330. Print.
Repa, Barbara Kate. "E-Cruelty: Cyberbullying in California." California Lawyer (2013): n.
pag. E-Cruelty: Cyberbullying in California. Jan. 2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2014. <http://www.callawyer.com/Clstory.cfm?eid=926438&wteid=926438_E-Cruelty:_Cyberbullying_in_California>.
Report to the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Ministers Responsible for Justice and Public Safety.
Rep. CCSO CYBERCRIME WORKING GROUP, June 2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2014. <http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/other-autre/cndii-cdncii/pdf/cndii-cdncii-eng.pdf>.
Slagle, Mark. "An Ethical Exploration of Free Expression and the Problem of Hate
Speech." Journal of Mass Media Ethics 24.4 (2009): 238-50.Taylor & Francis. 1 Dec. 2009. Web. 11 Oct. 2014. <http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08900520903320894#.VDly2_ldWSY>.
Simpson, Robert Mark. "Dignity, Harm and Hate Speech." Law and Philosophy 32.6 (2013):
701-28. Springer Link. Springer, 27 Nov. 2012. Web. 21 Sept. 2014.
"The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit: Kowalski v. Berkeley County
Schools (2011)." The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. N.p., n.d.        Web.             <http://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/Published/101098.P.pdf>
Webb, Thomas J. "Verbal Poison - Criminalizing Hate Speech: A Comparative Analysis and a
Proposal for the American System."Washburn Law Journal 50.2 (2011): 445-81. Hein Online. William S. Hein & Co., Inc. Web. 7 Oct. 2014. <http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/wasbur50&div=24&id=&page=>.

Saturday, December 21, 2013

In Defense of a Fair Living Wage - A University Essay

There's no real intro for this like usual when posting our university essays, this was the final paper for Composition II. It's a research/argument paper on a topic inspired by the semester reading of James Loewen's book Lies My Teacher Told Me (as per the assignment).

Got the grade this evening. The paper received a grade of 99%. Sadly there was no rubric or comments like the last time...

It's a paper on minimum wage, obviously siding for a more fair one...but with good research and thorough analysis from a historical perspective juxtaposed with perspectives on modern argumentation...give it a read...if you dare. As always, comments welcome.

Source
Download .pdf via Google Drive :
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0L6-YMPxtu7VThUcy1BbkFCQmM/edit?usp=sharing
or read it here...

In Defense of a Fair Living Wage

In one hundred years’ time, from the first state minimum wage regulations of 1913, to The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 under Franklin D. Roosevelt, to The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2012, the scope of the moral and economic debates surrounding minimum wage have barely evolved inside of a bubble of eroding ethics and stagnant wage growth. From the end of the Industrial Revolution to the Progressive Era to the Information Age, not only has the breadth of the economic debates by critics remained relatively unchanged, so have the cores of the ethical arguments in support of minimum wage. As in the past, modern day critics of increasing minimum wage seem to present arguments embedded in an ethical quagmire of increasingly corrupt ideals and self-interest, displaying less concern for individuals and the society as a whole. Arguments for maintaining a wage system below ethical criteria for maintenance of life, and belief that low-skilled workers are responsible for their economic stature, and therefore deserving of it, are now rooted in some flawed ideal within the boundaries of a country no longer flourishing, deplete of employment prospects, short on individual opportunities for strong economic advancement. This new landscape creates concerns about who is meant to benefit from minimum wage and what qualifies as a fair minimum wage, rising ethical considerations for increasing the minimum wage, creating query into who is affected and even whether or not there is a need for wage regulation.

These issues of contention reverberate from the past, despite widespread wage erosion amid high productivity, and continue to persist in vastly similar contexts amid developments in the globalization of employment structures and labor trade, advancements in technology, and increased corporatocracy, which have negatively impacted the United States low-wage and mid-wage labor force. As the United States comes out of one of the worst economic climates since the Great Depression, into an age of staggering income inequality due to stagnant wage growth, faced with high education costs and growing poverty levels, after decades of international outsourcing of manufacturing and service jobs, a requirement for fairer living wages is just as legitimate today as it was when the need for wage regulation ascended.

The circumstances under which the need for an establishment of state level minimum wage regulation, in 1913, arose out of an ethical need to protect women and children in the workforce. The lack of regulation on wages had led businesses towards a propensity to extort labor from women and children who, according to Chief Justice William Howard Taft, experienced less equality in their relationships with their employers, making them unable to argue for a fair wage, and causing them to become targets of “harsh and greedy employer[s]” [qtd. by Thies]. Supporting this opinion, American philanthropist, and businessman, Edward A. Filene, in his 1923 The Minimum Wage and Efficiency, expounded the ethics of paying a fair wage as a good business practice that works towards building a quality company full of productive and satisfied employees who are treated fairly. From Filene’s perspective, paying employees too low of a wage proved inefficient and wasteful, and in paying a fair wage ethical businesses can advance. Filene stated that if a company cannot continue business inside of responsible social and ethical standards, then they have no place in the business world.

According to the economists McKenna and Zannoni, in Economics and the Supreme Court, it was, and is, inefficiencies in free market models of business, such as low wages, that lead to oppressed and exploited labor forces, and the growth of monopolies. In addition, basic arguments against the laissex-faire business model of free market, which excludes or restricts government intervention in its policies, demonstrated that is was becoming unsuccessful in maintaining the health and welfare of society, and led to the growth of ineffective and unfair market situations. Eventually this belief led the public to recognize the role big business played in The Great Depression, and to hold them partially responsible, fostering the growth of anti-free-market “movements” whose desire was to dismantle big business in order to return to what they viewed as more perfect market competition and a fairer wage system [McKenna & Zannoni]. It seemed to proponents that establishing minimum wage regulation was the responsible step to take in repairing the broken structure.

On the other hand, opponents felt that an established minimum wage was an oppressive restriction to an employee’s freedom to negotiate a wage of their own, and that “[…]set[ting] legal minimum wages contradicts, and cannot coexist with, the right to liberty” [Thies]. These beliefs, that minimum wage regulation was unconstitutional, and an agent in the suppression of liberty, was also held by the Supreme Court for a period. Enforcing early minimum wage laws proved ineffectual, and in instances where a business tried to get out of paying minimum wage, led to the repeal and overturning of the laws by the Supreme Court in many of the fifteen states that had enacted wage regulations prior to 1938 [Thies].

Furthering the scope of the arguments by critics, prominent anti-transformative economists believed that a natural law of business, wealth, and market existed in society and promoted income equality. A neoclassical economist of the time, John Bates Clark, held the view that an employee, under wage regulation, would not receive fair pay for thier contribution, but free of regulation the employer would naturally be inclined to pay the employee fairly. The error of this view holds the assumption that employers, businesses owners, and corporations will be driven by an ethical responsibility to their employees and community. In addition, the premise ignores that minimum wage regulation was not meant to, and does not, cap potential wages, but simply establishes a base pay, a means for creating a situation where low-skilled employees can maintain the ability to pay for the basic costs of living and maintenance of health, and be a productive asset to society.

However, according to McKenna and Zannoni, opponents of wage regulation began to acknowledge that businesses were becoming too large, and increasingly unconcerned with the ethics of paying fair wages, which employees were entitled to in exchange for service, thereby contradicting the idealistic “natural law” of market philosophy set forth by Clark. The growing popular dissent was that big business did not have public interest in mind and in fact, by forcing low-wage workers to seek assistance from the community, the businesses themselves were unethically receiving entitlements on the backs of low-wage earners and the members of those communities. [McKenna and Zannoni]

Putting these historical arguments of failed business models and corrupt ethics into a modern context, we need only to look to corporations such as WalMart, notorious for low wages and opposing recent proposed increases in minimum wage. It is reported that WalMart costs tax payers nearly $1.6 billion in public assistance [Walmart: High Cost of Low Prices, 2005]. Additionally, the fast food industry, costs tax payers $7 billion a year [Allegretto] in public assistance programs serves as typical example of inefficiency. Today, just as they had one hundred years ago, big businesses fight to keep wages low and/or below a realistic living wage, all the while growing themselves on the backs of taxpayers. In keeping wages artificially low these businesses resign their employees to a life of poverty; stripping them of the freedom to be productive members of society, often stifling their liberty to collectively bargain for a fairer wage through union affiliation [Walmart: High Cost of Low Prices]. These un-ethical business practices echo the concerns that led to the growing realizations by economic leaders and lawmakers, which accounted for the shift in the Supreme Court’s opinion of wage regulation, and the understanding of the fundamental need for it. This further illustrates the need for continued wage regulation and a more ethical and fair living wage.

While the Supreme Court has found minimum wage regulation completely constitutional since The Fair Labor Act of 1938, which mandated a Federal minimum wage, modern day opponents work hard to remove and suppress state and federal minimum wages, despite support for a Federal wage increase of $1.75 by nearly three-quarters of Americans, as reported by Danielle Gewurz of The Pew Institute. Organizations such as the ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council), a conservative group that pushes for laws benefiting corporations in attempt to advance free-market philosophies, have, according to a report by the National Employment Law Project, introduced and co-sponsored 67 wage repeal and suppression legislation bills since 2011. Organizations such as these do not appear to be concerned about the unethical practices of those corporations preying on low-skilled workers and those caught in the downturn of the labor market over the last 10 years or more.

Based on their resolutions for opposing increases in minimum wage, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), along with others, claim that “few” workers earning minimum wage indicates labor market supply and demand is working very well, therefore there is no need for an increased minimum wage, and in many cases there is actually no need for minimum wage. Not surprisingly, however, is that the five States who currently have no State minimum wage regulations, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and South Carolina, also experience some of the highest poverty levels compared to those with a State minimum wage at, or higher than, the Federal mandated wage [Luhby]. In addition, these claims do not
taken into account the high number of people making above minimum wage but below an adequate living wage, who must turn to tax-funded social programs to subsidize basic costs of living. High poverty rates persisting among the working class (1) [Yen] actually indicate a system that is not working effectively. Once again, this demonstrates the failure of the laissex-faire model of free market, where wages are kept artificially low, as ineffective in maintaining the health and welfare of society while unethically putting the financial responsibility on the shoulders of society itself.

Returning once again to the historical debates, we look to some moral and social arguments under which the first state minimum wage act for women and children became needed. According to The First Minimum Wage Laws, written in 1991 by Thies, some clergy along with other members of society, opposed minimum wages on grounds of morality. Moral critics believed that a woman with funds to live a comfortable life free of “cooperative economics” (shared housing), and with money to spend on simple pleasures, would be moved to derive those pleasures from locations outside of her home, and find her moral compass askew. This concept held that through low wages, a system of social control could be established. Conversely, proponents of the act theorized that this lack of fair wages that was forcing many women to remain living with their parents, or seek out dependency through “cooperative economics” while taking part in “economizing” efforts such as making their own clothes, created situations where women had no time to enjoy life [Thies]. Further, a person making such a pittance has no real chance to improve their social standing and is limited in contributing to the economic system.

Through the philosophies of the advocates, and certainly paralleled with the idea that maintaining low wages was a good control system, wage regulation then became a means to privacy, freedom, and personal independence that leads to further satisfaction with life. This supported theories that former “sustenance wages” could be more “decent” through regulation so that a person could uphold a healthy prosperous life [Thies]. These assertions called for a person’s right to earn a living wage at a level permitting them to provide themselves basic necessities; a safe and clean place to live, basic privacy, adequate sustenance – opportunity to sustain and maintain health and happiness; illuminating the essential role of wage regulation in a democratic society that included American philosophies of freedom and independence for all.

However, identifying the “beneficiaries” of minimum wage regulation proved, to some, a good method to separate “parasites from the mass of workers” [qtd by Thies], indicating a poor opinion of low-wage workers that continues to persist. Today, the reasoning that minimum wage separates the “wheat from the chaff” holds in opinions that only teenagers, the under-educated and low-skilled workers are truly effected by a wage regulation set below living standards, and are undeserving of an increase. This somewhat erroneous belief is refuted by the statistical analysis of minimum wage and employment structures by Heidi Shierholz, as well as study and analyses by economists Cooper and Hall. In Shierholz analysis for the Economic Policy Institute, she suggests that 28% of those who would be positively affected by an increase in minimum wage will be women over the age of 20, focused in industries such as education and health services, hospitality, leisure, and retail trade. In an analysis by Cooper and Hall, it is further revealed that 88% of minimum wage earners affected by an increase will be over 20 years old.

Adding to modern debates regarding raising minimum wage, many argue that minimum wage is entry-level, never meant for the long-term maintenance of life. This contradicts the historical implications surrounding its creation, as “minimum wage was specifically intended to play a crucial role in a strategy to reward work and reduce poverty in America and to ensure that growth in the economy is broadly shared across the workforce” [Shierholz]. In addition to being felonious, the argument by critics assumes that every citizen has the means and ability to advance their skill level beyond an entry or low-level status. It further maintains the suggestion that those employed in low-wage industries should simply get a degree, as if all it takes is a college education to “escape” low paying jobs, reiterating commonly held views that lack of education is a large factor in becoming a low wage earner.

Challenging this is Shierholz’s analysis in Fix It and Forget It: Index the Minimum Wage to Growth in Average Wage finding that 43.8% of minimum wage earners actually have a college education of some level. This discovery should not be overly shocking in reflection of recession job loss and the impact of outsourcing employment on labor forces, which has led to job losses in low-skill mid-wage earning positions (such as manufacturing), forcing workers to take jobs in low-skilled low-wage industries. Following the loss of low-skill manufacturing jobs over the decades, even high-skilled mid-wage jobs have been prone to outsourcing.

Overall, mid-wage employment opportunities on U.S. soil have been on the decline as jobs in data entry/payroll, auditors/tax preparers, computer programming/software engineering, medical transcriptionists/paralegals, and technical writers within the IT, finance, insurance, and professional and business service sectors [U.S. Congressional Research Service]. Coupled with recession job losses from 2001 onward, this accounts for the 7.3% decrease of growth in mid-wage occupation employment, which experienced a 60% job loss, while low-wage occupations have seen an 8.7% growth in employment, as reported by National Employment Law Project. This supports my theories that there are those in the low-wage industry that has been forced there, not out of some lack of skill, but because of economic conditions beyond their control.

Finally, arguing that increasing minimum wage is damaging to economic systems such as employment, have been part of the platform for opponents of minimum wage increases consistently over the years. Economic research on the negative impact on productivity and employment levels due to increases in minimum wage have shown an inability to strongly tie them together due to flawed methodology. However, modern research using better data shows negligible negative influence on teen employment, while other studies find positive impacts, such as increased employment and employee morale [Shierholz]. While the potential impact on small business cannot be ignored, there is little evidence to suggest that a raise in minimum wage negatively impacts small business [Fiscal Policy Institute]. To further reiterate the minimal affected by a raise in minimum wage (2), it should also be noted that over 78.5% (3) of small business owners are non-employers. Overall, research shows small and irregular negative impacts on job growth and employment which does not justify continuing to maintain minimum wage at its low level.

Analysis finds that a meaningful minimum wage increase would not only positively impact those in low-wage industries, but would produce increases in low-skilled employment, boost consumer spending and “substantially raise pay scales across the entire lower end of the economy” [Shierholz]. Similarly, analysis done by Cooper & Hall indicates similar finding that increases in minimum wage does not negatively impact job growth, but may significantly increases job growth while boosting the economy vis-a-vis increased consumer demand and spending, lending to healthy economic stimulation.

The requirement to raise minimum wage owes to the roles of minimum wage in reducing poverty levels and income equality. According to Shierholz, the relationship between minimum wage and disproportionate wage distribution has led to increased income inequality and decreased living standards across the United States over the past 35 years. The dire need to raise minimum wage comes from the erosion of wages and the real value of wages over the years, which is due to long periods of minimum wage neglect by Congress, and rapidly increasing inflation, as illustrated by Figure 1, as well as the influx of workers into low-wage employment. Keeping minimum wage at levels that have led to overall decline in the economy and decreased wage growth negatively impacts citizens, small business, and corporations by continuing to increase income inequality and decreased spending, and encouraging poor labor conditions by oppressing and exploiting labor forces, creating high turnover while sustaining poverty levels [McKenna and Zannoni].
Figure 1

A potential solution then, is to perhaps adjusting minimum wage with the CPI, which tracks inflation, while bringing minimum wage closer to the estimated average wage of workers (those estimates not including high-level positions), thereby promoting real wage gain that would generally not be seen by simply adjusting minimum wage with inflation figures [Shierholz]. Narrowing the gap between the low-wage and mid-wage tiers would afford low-income families the opportunity to have a real stake in economic growth. Raising minimum wage and moving it towards a true living wage, would decrease poverty levels and positively benefit society as whole.

Important in the consideration of argument for, or against, a fair living wage, is that socially responsible communities benefit from supporting fairness in economic matters aimed towards their fellow citizens. As Filene eloquently argued in his 1923 The Minimum Wage and Efficiency, fair wage is an important cornerstone to a free society and is essential in the cultivation of happy productive populations. What held true then holds just as true, if not more so, today. There is a need for a wage regulation and an increased minimum wage in the work force structure. Wildly disproportionate and unfair wage distribution, which led to initial wage regulations, is dangerous to the ideals that the United States was founded upon. Economic structures of society are not independent, rather a symbiotic relationship of ethics and responsibility between employees, employers, and consumers that, when executed efficiently and effectively, benefits all. Therefore, the production of a fair living wage to reflect economic inflation and the evolution of labor forces in a globalized society, that prevent businesses from advancing at the expense of their employees and communities, plays an essential role in maintaining a healthy democratic society where productive members have the ability to flourish and fairly contribute to the economic structures.

Footnotes:
1 In 2011, 12.6% of adults ages 25-60 lived in poverty
2 Except in cases where suppliers may increase the cost of raw materials to reflect their wage increases
3 According to the U.S. Small Business Authority, 2012

Bibliography:
Allegretto, Sylvia, Marc Doussard, Dave Graham-Squire, Ken Jacobs, Dan Thompson, and Jeremy Thompson. Fast Food, Poverty Wages: The Public Cost of Low-wage Jobs in the Fast-food Industry. Berkeley, CA: University of California, Berkeley, 15 Oct. 2013. Berkeley Labor Center. Web. 5 Dec. 2013. <http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/publiccosts/fast_food_poverty_wages.pdf>.

Cooper, David, and Doug Hall. Raising the Federal Minimum Wage to $10.10 Would Give Working Families, and the Overall Economy, a Much-Needed Boost. Rep. no. 357. Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute 13 March 2013. Economic Policy Institute. Web. 24 Nov. 2013 <http://www.epi.org/publication/bp357-federal-minimum-wage-increase/>.

McKenna, Edward J., and Diane C. Zannoni. "Economics and the Supreme Court: The Case of the Minimum Wage." Review of Social Economy 69.2 (2011): 189-210. Taylor Francis Online. Web. 23 Nov. 2013.

Filene, Edward A. "The Minimum Wage and Efficiency." The American Economic Review 13.3 (1923): 411-15. JSTOR. Web. 23 Nov. 2013. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1804545>.

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"Resolution Opposing Increases in Minimum Wage Linked to the CPI." ALEC American Legislative Exchange Council. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. <http://www.alec.org/model-legislation/resolution-opposing-increases-in-minimum-wage-linked-to-the-cpi/>.

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Thies, Clifford F. "The First Minimum Wage Laws." Cato Journal 10.3 (1991): 715-46. CATO Institute. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/cato-journal/1991/1/cj10n3-7.pdf>.

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Yen, Hope "4 in 5 in USA Face Near-poverty, No Work." USA Today. USA Today/Associated Press, 17 Sept. 2013. Web. 06 Dec. 2013. <http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/07/28/americans-poverty-no-work/2594203/>
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