Is it reasonable for someone to try to live comfortably in Colorado only making $17,118 every year? A job working a cash register or as a fast food worker in our state will get you $8.23 per hour, If someone living in Colorado works 40 hours a week receiving the minimum wage they will earn $17,118 during one year. Many people across the US are living in poverty and must weigh unemployment/welfare benefits vs. a job paying minimum wage. The minimum wage has been debated for years by organizations fighting for or against increases and different groups will argue the benefits or disadvantages. According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), around 75.3 million people ages sixteen and older worked for hourly wages in 2012 and these numbers are growing fast. These workers comprise 59 percent of the U.S. workforce. There is a long history related to minimum wage, with laws dating back to the early 1900s. Since starting at 40 cents an hour, the hourly wage has been increased many times and ranges from about $7 per hour to $9 per hour in different states. In order to understand the minimum wage controversy you must review its long history, the argument of choosing unemployment/welfare benefits versus receiving a minimum wage, and information on the organizations fighting for an increase or decrease and the …show more content…
As history has shown us, this topic has been debated for many years. The pros and cons of welfare benefits also come into play as those benefits are many times right in line with the benefits received from working full time at minimum wage. As long as businesses need low paying workers and workers strive for a better life, lobbyists and politicians will continue to fight for both sides of this