Minimum wage hikes have been a long debated issue amongst workers and companies. In the article “The Minimum Wage: to raise or not to raise”, Mike Patton invalidates many of these minimum wage workers by stating that there is ample room in the upper class for those who wish to improve themselves and their economic standing (2015). This implies that achieving economic success is simply a matter of self-motivation rather than an element of luck in working opportunities. Patton continues by stating that the majority of minimum wage earners are young individuals working at entry level jobs (2015). Additionally, the minimum wage was never meant to be a career salary but a starter income for those in the early stage of their work life (Patton 2015). …show more content…
In actuality, 40.3% of workers range between the ages of 18 to 24, with 39.6% are over the age of 25 and an additional 31% of workers between the ages of 40 and 64 earning less than 15$/hr (Suprovich, 2015). Even with full time jobs, these minimum wage workers rarely rise above the poverty line making it difficult to support themselves let alone a family (Press Progress, 2014).Moreover according to Suprovich the minimum wage does not keep pace with the rising cost of living (2015). The price of goods increase exponentially while base wages remain the same. This inflation decreases the workers buying power as more of their income is delegated to buying necessities that are becoming increasingly more expensive (Suprovich, 2015). Raising the minimum wage would be beneficial as it would put money back into the hands of the consumers, subsequently increasing demand (Press Progress,