First off let’s start with what minimum wage is. Minimum wage is the minimum amount of money that an employer is required to pay wage earners for the work performed during a given period, which cannot be reduced by collective agreement or an individual contract. Minimum wage was created by president Roosevelt in the 1930s during the great depression, starting at only $0.25 per hour.

Minimum wage has not gone up much over the past 30 years. In 1990  the minimum wage was $3.80, today it’s only $8.25. It’s crazy that the minimum wage has only been raised by $4.45, comparing the cost of living back then to today.

In my opinion the  minimum wage should be raised. Minimum wage leaves out many unfortunate workers, even though workers of all types need to make a living. For example, employees of small farms, students, disabled workers, etc.  Many people have to work more than one job to pay their bills, and if they have kids it’s even harder to live a good lifestyle. Making $7 or $8 dollars an hour is just not enough for some people to pay all their bills.

When I was 6 years old my mom was going through a rough time. She was a single mom taking care of two kids working a minimum wage job. It got so bad that we had to move to Brazil for a better job opportunities.

Some people might disagree with my opinion on raising the minimum wage. A problem people see with raising the minimum wage is that it  would force people to fire a lot of employees. But by raising the minimum wage their would be an increase in the standard of living for workers.  Raising the minimum wage would also reduce crime. According to a 2016 study, "higher wages for low-income individuals reduce crime by providing viable and sustainable employment… raising the minimum wage to $12 by 2020 would result in a 3 to 5 percent crime decrease’’.

In conclusion i believe that minimum wage should be increased to help people who live check by check. Living check by check isn't the greatest feeling in the world.

This will certify that the above work is completely original. Manuel Alejandro Valdez