Need More Money?
Is minimum wage enough? How do we know that the federal minimum wage is enough? When we start working, how can we tell that minimum wage meets our needs as we purchase the goods and services necessary to support a family? Minimum wage, as we all know, is difficult to control by the federal system. But most people agree that the federal minimum wage does not support a full time working family. Since the federal minimum wage was last raised in 1997, the number of states with minimum wages above the federal level has gone from six to thirteen, with additional states considering action this year. Two states have decided on a longer-lasting solution rather than a one-time increase. Washington state and Oregon now increase their minimum wage moderately each year to keep pace with the rising cost of living. The United States should increase the federal minimum wage to benefit the wages of millions of workers and working families, reduce poverty, having no evidence of job loss, and help middle class achieve the American Dream.
According to Amy Chasanov, author for the “No Longer Getting By” discusses an argument about the increase on the federal minimum wage by many different points that are positive and shown statistics on figures in the article (1-11). Every morning low income workers wake up early in the morning, go to work, and earn only minimum wage that barely helps them purchase the goods and services that are necessary to meet at a basic level needs (1). The low and middle income families may be the backbone of our economy, but they struggle to afford the basics: the mortgage or rent, the medical bills, child care costs, groceries, electric bills, and sending their sons and daughters to college. An increase in the wage rate can actually change worker behavior in a positive way, which can motivate them to go to work and do a better job. In the article “Facts at a Glance,” it was pointed out on page one the average minimum...