Minimum Wage at Its Maximum

Ever since the beginning of this year when I started my job as a teacher's aide in my Hebrew school, I have been more aware of the news about minimum wage in the United States. According to a recent article from the BBC, the future looks very promising many for minimum wage workers, especially after "the Seattle city council has voted unanimously to raise the city's minimum wage to the highest level of any major U.S. city-$15," (BBC) which is over twice the national minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Personally, I hope that the rest of the country follows in suit and votes to raise the minimum wage.

Seattle is not the only U.S. city that is attempting to raise their minimum wage. California, Maryland, and Connecticut have recently passed laws that will increase their wages to $10 or more per hour. Also, on a national level, President Obama has proposed a $10.10 minimum wage. (BBC) However, most states still have minimum wages that are much less than $10, which is not really "livable," meaning that it is almost impossible for someone to support themselves and pay for basic expenses, let alone provide for a family, while earning such meager wages.

Image source: BBC

At my job at my Hebrew school, I currently earn $8.25 per hour (the minimum wage in Illinois) before taxes, which is a good amount of money for me. Although Illinois currently has one of the highest minimum wages in the country, it is still not nearly a "living wage." For people who work minimum wage jobs and support their families, even one of the highest minimum wages, $8.25 per hour, is only $66 (before taxes!) for an 8 hour workday. Less than $66 for all FULL DAY OF WORK is not even close to enough to pay for basic expenses such as rent, food, gas, clothes, etc. As a result, many minimum wage workers work 2 or even 3 jobs 6 days a week to support their families. Clearly, the idea that working class people who earn minimum wage often have to work serval jobs to make a sufficient living goes against the American Dream narrative where anyone can succeed with "hard work and little bit of luck." Even though working class people work hard and earn an honest living, they are still very unlikely to become wealthy and climb up the socioeconomic ladder.

Although many Americans support the idea of increasing the federal minimum wage, there are some businesses that oppose it for various reasons. One business owner in Seattle said that the wage raise "would force them to cut back on new recruits and service hours" (BBC). In my opinion, if a company cannot afford to pay their employees at $15 per hour, they should at least raise the wage to $10 per hour, so their employees can lead a better life.

Why do you think it is necessary or unnecessary for the U.S. to raise the national minimum wage?