What is the minimum wage in the United States? Is it too low? Too high? Should the minimum wage be increased to accommodate many more sustainable jobs? In the United States, many different opinions are made on the issue of the minimum wage being raised to $15-an-hour. Many people think that the minimum wage should not be raised because of the lessening of government aid and other reasons.  Others, however, think that the minimum wage should be raised because businesses will thrive, it would lift almost a million people out of poverty, and that it will make room for people to have fun once in awhile.  In this article the reader will read about all the reasons why the minimum wage should be raised to $15 -an-hour in the United States.

  
The first reason why the minimum wage in the United States should be raised to $15 an hour is because the wage rise would lift many people out of poverty.  Poverty numbers grow higher every year in the United States, and some part of the reasons why the numbers grow is because of the minimum wage.   Currently, the United States minimum wage is only $7.25¢ per hour.  So, by raising the minimum wage, this select group of people will be able to provide for their families with food, home, and clothing. On page 2 of the article Issue Overview: Minimum Wage the author states, “a mixed analysis in 2014 found that adopting a $10.10 nationwide minimum wage would lift 900,000 people out of poverty.”  As this quote from an article overview of the Minimum Wage problem suggests, an analysis came back with lifting near to 1,000,000 people out of poverty.   

The second reason why the minimum wage in the United States should be raised to $15 an hour is because the wage lift would help many businesses thrive.   Many businesses would pick up on this wage increase and continue to grow; even thrive.  This is because the new businesses would have to pay more to their workers, so more workers would want to be employed there because of higher wages. However, on page 3 of the article With Minimum Wage rising, Is America ready for $15 an-hour working world?  The author states, “some businesses will do just fine, maybe even thrive.”  This quote from an article about the minimum wage crisis shows that, some businesses will do fine and even thrive; like what was stated before. The wage increase is a good reminder that the minimum wage being raised is not a completely good, or bad thing.  

The last reason why the minimum wage in the United States should be raised to $15 an hour is because the wage would make room for the people to have fun or do different activities once in awhile. Many people who are doing alright with their money and jobs in the United States do not have time to have fun. Many of them are working non-stop on the clock.  A wage raise would give them time to do things with their families, maybe go out to dinner once in awhile.  Additionally, on page 2 of the article California’s Lowest Paid Workers could Soon get a Raise “A higher minimum wage will be heavenly, she said. It would offer "a little more money for me, to maybe go to a concert or do something fun once in awhile," as well as "help my family even more.”  In particular, the evidence of this situation also states something relatable. Many people love having fun and spending time with each other.  Imagine what life would be without it.

Though these reasons are very strong, the other side of the argument has many other claims.  For example, they may say that business owners would not benefit from the wage rise.  On page 1 of the article With Minimum Wage rising, is America ready for a $15 an-hour working world?  The author writes a piece of evidence that the other side of the argument may say that the minimum wage rise will hurt business owners, “hurt them(business owners) during times when the economy slumps and people stop buying the things they sell.”  However, many businesses would pick up on this wage increase and continue to grow, and even thrive.  At the same time, some people may say that this wage-increase, would eliminate low-income jobs, as evidenced by the same article: “Issue Overview: Minimum Wage” on page 2, “while eliminating 500,000 low-income jobs,”  despite this claim, the minimum wage would lift almost two times as many people as the evidence before suggests.  

In conclusion, the minimum wage in the United States should be raised to $15 an hour.  This is true because it would lift almost a million people out of poverty, and that it will make room for people to have fun once in awhile.    Changing the minimum wage matters because the minimum wage crisis is an issue worldwide, and it affects many different people in many different populations.  The other side of the issue may say that the minimum wage should not be raised because of a loss of jobs, and less government aid.  However, the benefits of the minimum wage being raised are much higher.  In the end, the U.S.   needs to look towards the people.  The people need to start protesting for the cause of raising the minimum wage, then, many more, and hopefully all families, will be able to pay for their needs.