Homework
In 2,000 words (max 2,500), evaluate the idea of a government-imposed minimum wage solely from the perspective of biblical authority and responsibility.
There are many lenses through which one could evaluate the validity/fairness/justification of a government-imposed minimum wage. For the Minor Project, consider only one lens-biblical authority and responsibility:
A. Who is responsible for the wage rates workers receive? If more than one party has responsibility-e.g., employer, employee, government-explain the scope and bounds of responsibility for each.
B. Who has the authority to set/determine the wage rate for an employee? If more than one party has authority-- e.g., employer, employee, government-explain the scope and bounds of authority for each.
C. Apply your conclusions about responsibility and authority for wage rates to the minimum wage. When, and under what circumstances (if any), would civil government be justified, according to principles of biblical authority and responsibility, to set a minimum wage?
Your references for this paper should be the Bible, scholarly papers on exegesis and hermeneutics (i.e., how to interpret and apply Scripture), especially as they apply to biblical authority and responsibility, and scholarly papers that focus on biblical authority and responsibility concerning wage rates. History of the minimum wage, economic effects of the minimum wage, and social commentary/opinions about minimum wages are not relevant to this paper.
One approach to the paper is to start with the authority and responsibility God has given to all individuals to make decisions about their lives. From there, you might evaluate the circumstances under which civil government has responsibility and authority to override the authority of individuals and employers to make wage rate decisions.
Parental authority and responsibility provide an example of how to frame the issue of biblical authority and responsibility. Although the issue is different from minimum wage, it shares some similarities that may be helpful as you consider your paper on minimum wage. God gives parents broad responsibility and authority for their children's food, clothing, shelter, medical care, education, recreation, religious training, etc. Parental authority is not without limits. If a parent abuses or abandons/abdicates responsibility for a child, society steps into the parental role. What constitutes parental abuse or abdication of responsibility? That is a controversial topic. Many would say that governments frequently encroach on parental authority unjustifiably-e.g., mandatory sex education for grade school, punishment for asserting positions on traditional marriage and gender, offering abortion services to minors without parental notification, etc. Even though most would agree that government should intervene to remove children from dangerous home situations and force medical care for life threatening injuries or illness, there is still room for disagreement on what constitutes danger at home or best medical practice.
Format your homework according to the give formatting requirements:
a. The answer must be double spaced, typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
b. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the course title, the student's name, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
c. Also include a reference page. The references and Citations should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.