Persuasive Essay On Minimum Wage

Most people during their lifetime have worked for a company in which they received minimum wage, I know I have and I am only 19 years of age. Well in 2013, 3.3 million people of the American workforce made the minimum wage, and of that 3.3 million people, nearly fifty-five percent were adults over twenty-five years old working full-time. With the current minimum wage at $7.25, there is no doubt that it is not sufficient to support a family with that amount. Although many people and many industries believe that the minimum wage should be raised to as much as $15 per hour, raising it to that level may be extreme. Minnesota raised its state minimum wage from $8 per hour to $9 per hour for companies making over $500,000 annually, effecting more

They want it for many practical and logical reasons. One of the arguments is that the minimum wage is currently too low, and so people making the minimum wage have to get a “piggy-back” ride from our government, meaning they need food stamps and Medicare just to make ends meet. This is one of the major issues with the minimum wage debate, and one that absolutely needs to be dealt with sometime in the future. Like stated previously in this essay, minimum wage workers only make $290 per week without taxes, so with taxes it would maybe come out to be around $240. In today’s world that amount of money would go to nothing but bills, and still these workers will not be able to make ends meet without help. An average one room apartment today rents for about $750-$800 per month. Well when you’re only making $960 a month, you will need some extra assistance from someone, whether it be family, a friend, or more commonly the government. According to Medicare.gov, Medicare is “the federal health insurance program for people who are 65 or older, certain younger people with disabilities, and people with a disease called ESRD. This program basically allows people who are on it to get a free health insurance program due to a disability they have or insufficient funds. The majority of these people will also use a voucher issued by the government for those on low income, exchangeable for food; also known as food stamps (Dictionary.com). Both of these programs are made for people, many of which are minimum wage workers, that can’t afford food or health insurance. Also both of these programs are either paid by millions of people’s tax dollars or by the government. Now, the whole argument for those who want the minimum wage to be increased is that if the minimum wage were to be more, these people shouldn’t have to ride the government or “live off of the system”. A counterclaim for that statement would be that when the