# FILE NAME: 00001919.soc
# TITLE: Should the minimum wage be raised to £20 per hour? [c4d99a29b94eae49b5c3c2063cc6817a]
# DESCRIPTION: 
# DATA TYPE: soc
# MODIFICATION TYPE: original
# RELATES TO: 
# RELATED FILES: 
# PUBLICATION DATE: 2025-10-12
# MODIFICATION DATE: 2025-10-12
# NUMBER ALTERNATIVES: 4
# NUMBER VOTERS: 5
# NUMBER UNIQUE ORDERS: 3
# ALTERNATIVE NAME 1: Statement 1 - The minimum wage should be increased to £15 per hour. The current wage is too low to be considered a living wage. The government should subsidise the wage increase to allow businesses to absorb it. In this case study, the decision-making process of a group of participants is presented. They were tasked with coming up with a consensus opinion on an important question. Below is presented the question, the opinions of each individual participant, the first draft of a consensus statement, the critiques of the draft consensus statement by the participants, and the final consensus statement reached after much deliberation.
# ALTERNATIVE NAME 2: Statement 2 - The minimum wage should be increased but not to £20 per hour. There are several factors to consider, and no decision should be made lightly. On the one hand, the minimum wage is set so low that it is not viable for people to survive on it. If they work 40 hours a week they will be earning less than £15,000 per year, and that is just not enough to cover living costs. It is simply not right that someone who works 40 hours a week should be living in poverty. This should be considered. However, the other side of the argument is that the cost of living is rising, and many businesses will not be able to cover the cost of the wage increase. They will either be forced to close or they will pass on the cost to customers, which will not benefit anyone. Another factor is that other jobs will also see their wage rise as a result, which will have an impact on the cost of living. For example, it will be less viable to hire builders or other higher paid workers. However, the balance of the argument goes in favour of a rise in the minimum wage. It is simply not acceptable for a worker to be living in poverty.
# ALTERNATIVE NAME 3: Statement 3 - The minimum wage should be increased to £10 per hour to start with, then reviewed every 5 years.
# ALTERNATIVE NAME 4: Statement 4 - Final consensus statement: The minimum wage should be increased but not to £20 per hour. There are several factors to consider, and no decision should be made lightly. On the one hand, the minimum wage is set so low that it is not viable for people to survive on it. If they work 40 hours a week they will be earning less than £15,000 per year, and that is just not enough to cover living costs. It is simply not right that someone who works 40 hours a week should be living in poverty. This should be considered. However, the other side of the argument is that the cost of living is rising, and many businesses will not be able to cover the cost of the wage increase. They will either be forced to close or they will pass on the cost to customers, which will not benefit anyone. Another factor is that other jobs will also see their wage rise as a result, which will have an impact on the cost of living. For example, it will be less viable to hire builders or other higher paid workers. However, the balance of the argument goes in favour of a rise in the minimum wage. It is simply not acceptable for a worker to be living in poverty.
3: 2,4,1,3
1: 2,1,4,3
1: 4,1,2,3