Minimum wage is one of the most controversial topics in society. Minimum wage is defined to be the lowest pay any employer wishes to authorized. The United States’ minimum wage differs in every State. “ The federal wage has been stuck at 7.25 an hour since 2009. While congress has refused to take action, Democratic politicians have been engaged in something of a binding war to propose raising the minimum wage higher”(Krueger 1). It seems like raising the wage has been a problem for decades now but it hasn’t been spoken of enough to raise speculation. In order to eliminate poverty in most families, the best thing to do is to increase minimum wage due to the fact that there are hundreds and millions of people out there who have responsibilities to attend to and today’s minimum wage will not cover it.
The Federal Government must increase the wage because it’s unfair that some Americans have to work multiple jobs in order to have stability in society. For instance when I was 16 years of age, I worked with a dishwasher named Jose. Jose was 34 years old, married and had three kids that he had to take care of. On top of that he had family back home in Mexico that he had to send money to every month. It was a hassle for him because the amount he was paid wasn’t sufficient enough to take care of his kids and his family back home. This is absurd because Jose had two jobs. He attended both jobs 5-6 days a week and worked 16 hours per day. At the end of it all the amount he was paid him wasn’t enough to better his situation.
Furthermore, People in recent years have come to the conclusion that minimum wage is just set for a category of people, for example teenagers, teens who get their first job are most likely to start at a pay rate of seven twenty-five and that’s because jobs like fast food restaurants are simple and easy. Gradually teens become older, many graduate high school and college. They basically earn the skill set to find a job that will pay more. However many aren’t fortunate enough. There are other jobs out there that require more work yet pay so little, There are jobs like housekeepers, janitors and cart pushers who make minimum wage and that’s ridiculously unfair. Levin Waldman states that “those at the lower end of the wage spectrum have greater dignity in their work” (17). Meaning that people like Jose invest many hours into their jobs, even though the money is not sufficient that’s not going to stop him from working those 40 hours.
Being it that there are families out there who have bills to pay, such as rent and utilities, minimum wage needs to be raised. “The living wage is a crucial tool in the effort to end poverty” (Uhler 4). Paychecks are used to pay bills at the end of the month and little to nothing are being kept to supply clothes and books for children. There are many unfortunate children who start working at a very young age because they want to be able to supply themselves with their own personal needs.
Despite minimum wage not being sufficient enough for low class families however, It’s a good starter for teens and young adults. At a young age, many teens still live with their parents and all they necessarily need to worry about is usually gas, money for lunch or even a concert ticket. Finding a job at a fast food chain or a clothing store doesn’t require skills or education that’s why I personally think minimum wage would be an excellent start for teens who want to earn their own money.
In conclusion working Americans need to be provided with an increase in wage because realistically everyone wants to be able to provide for themselves. Live lavish without having to work insane hours just to even be paid so little. Raising the minimum wage could possible help a lot of families get out of poverty and perhaps have a chance to live the American.
