Federal Minimum Wage.pdf

Wages for Americans, particularly young adults, have stagnated, with the real median wage declining nearly 30% from 2000 to 2012. The current federal minimum wage of $7.25 is inadequate, and 71% of minimum wage workers are Millennials. Raising the minimum wage has gained political traction and public support, with 85% of Millennials supporting an increase. Despite this, partisan gridlock in Congress has stalled attempts to raise the federal minimum wage, prompting President Obama to take executive action and some state and local governments to pass laws increasing the minimum wage. Critics argue that the benefits of a higher minimum wage would not go to low-income workers and that it would kill jobs, but data shows that 88% of workers who would be affected by a minimum-wage increase are over 20, and more than half of minimum-wage workers are full-time employees. The current minimum wage is not enough, with a full-time worker earning just $15,080 a year, below the poverty line for a family of two. A living wage would be significantly higher, and the declining value of the minimum wage has contributed to America's income inequality crisis.