In 1970, the minimum wage was only $1.60, but this fit along with the price of the economy. Now, there is talk about raising the minimum wage to a whopping $15.00 an hour. While many Americans believe this to be an insane amount, others believe it is accurate and will help the United States in a way different than anything else. Raising the minimum wage amount will increase the quality of life, strengthen the economy, and change the poverty percentage.
The minimum wage was established in 1938 as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). It established the federal minimum wage to help ensure that all work would be fairly rewarded and that regular employment would provide a decent quality of life. According to a report in the Raise the Wage Act of 2015, “Raising the minimum wage to $12 by 2020 would directly or indirectly lift wages for 35.1 million workers—more than one in four U.S. workers”. This would mean that the average affected worker would earn more than $2000 more a year with these raises. $2000 extra dollars can provide so much more for the hard working American. There are many people out there who barely survive on minimum wage due to the high cost of where they are living. Living paycheck to paycheck is not fun. With the minimum wage increasing each year, people would be able to save money or plan trips or shop more often than not.
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That is quite a boost. There are some places that want to raise the minimum wage to over $12 an hour, based on the cost of living, like California. The Raise the Wage Act of 2015 would raise the minimum wage amount by steps until 2021 and then the minimum wage would be “indexed” to median wages so that each year, the minimum wage would automatically be adjusted based upon growth in the median