The lowest wage a worker can receive by law is defined as "minimum wage."" The Roosevelt Administration passed the Fair Labor Standards Act and its purpose was to keep workers out of poverty. Minimum wage trends did not follow inflation rates and increase directly as it should over previous decades to present day. The current minimum wage is $7.25 per hour; allowing a full time workers to earn $50,000 a year. An individual supporting a family will not make enough to live above the federal poverty threshold, which is $22,283 (U.S. Census Bureau). Economists and society have opposing views on passing the bill. Advocates of raising the minimum wage increase strongly suggest that the current wage is not high enough to meet the cost of living requirements in today's society. Raising the wage floor would "increase the incomes of 28 million Americans " (Auerback). Current minimum wage is enough to place an individual above the poverty line. However, for a family of two or more it is not enough to survive on without government assistance. Raising the minimum wage would allow some families to live without government assistance. Auerbach states, once the incomes of those Americans are increased, the families will be living above the poverty threshold.
If minimum wage were increased, parents would have the option to work fewer hours and would be able to spend more time at home raising their children. With the current minimum wage, parents cannot afford an early learning day care center, let alone a regular childcare service. Workers would be able to guide their children better so they would not have to work minimum wage jobs. Most students working in college are only able to find minimum wage jobs to help pay off their tuition debt. At a rate of $7.25, it is impossible to live as a college student and pay tuition simultaneously. If the minimum wage is raised, more students can graduate without the burden of a great amount of debt.
