The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, which translates to $15,080 for a full time, year-round worker. The federal minimum wage was signed into law in 1938 by President Franklin Roosevelt. The purpose was to keep workers out of poverty. In the article, "Raise the Minimum wage" by National Employment Law Project (NELP). Working with state and national advocates and legislators, the NELP is committed to rebuilding the wage floor for low-wage workers in the US. Minimum wage can also promote more productivity from employees. The author James Sherk explains this in the article, "Productivity and Compensation: Growing Together". Minimum wage should be raised to keep Americans out of poverty/help economy, to help struggling college students and to promote more productivity from employees.
To begin with, minimum wage should be raised to keep Americans out of poverty and help the economy. Firstly, raise the minimum wage to keep Americans out of poverty. For example, in the article "Raise the minimum wage," the author explains how indexing the minimum wage works. Indexing the minimum wage means adjusting it automatically each year to keep pace with the rising cost of living. Eleven states- Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont and Washington – have adopted this best practice so that minimum wage workers do not lose purchasing power each year. In 2014 for example, these states saw their minimum wages automatically go up by 10 -15 cents, benefiting over 2.5 million workers in these states" (NELP). The author describes that by raising minimum wage will prevent employees from losing purchasing power by being provided with higher wage to keep up with the cost of living, which will keep them from being homeless or out of poverty. Secondly, the American economy is not doing well right now so raising the wage will help.
