Dear Editor,

 As citizens of a first world country we must recognize and push forth towards a better living standard for people working physically and mentally taxing jobs in order to get just the bare minimum of payment. Keeping this in consideration, raising the minimum wage would indefinitely benefit those working jobs that are necessary for this country to stay on its feet and move towards a better future for all of its citizens. While it may seem as if the federal minimum wage as of 2009 was reasonable, that was because it was reasonable for the time of and does not give us enough wiggle room in order ti move forward coexisting with inflation. The value of $7.25 has changed over that time span and has plummeted incomprehensibly since that became the minimum wage back in 2009 and that completely disproves the theory that it would hurt rather than help small businesses. On the contrary, this would increase the amount of eyes looking to work those jobs considering the higher pay. Not only that but it would dramatically decrease the amount of unemployment for the same reason. All in all, I believe that it is important to raise the minimum wage in order to benefit all.

Max M. ~ sophomore

Dear Editor, 

I disagree with raising the minimum wage because everything is just going to be the same because prices in gas, food, and other things will inflate and turn out to be the same. This would force businesses to lay off employees and raise unemployment levels. This might help people for a little bit of time but in the long run, we will see no difference when we have to pay more taxes and more prices on wants. Overall I just don’t agree with this.

Trey S. ~ junior

Dear Editor, 

As someone who makes minimum wage, I greatly agree that raising the minimum wage will have so many benefits for the gain of all citizens. Compared to other first world countries, our minimum wage is incredibly low and it just doesn’t make logical sense that we haven’t been editing it to comply with inflation. The proposition of the national $15 minimum wage raise may seem like it is pushing the limits, but I think that it could be a serious law senators should look into. Living paycheck to paycheck while slaving away at your job, especially for the amount of work and bad customers people have to put up with, should not be considered the standard lifestyle for someone living in the United States. Though conservative senators complain that it will damage the economy, they are not the ones having to skimp on meals and water because they make not even $8 an hour for their work. Those conservative senators are the same people complaining about the homeless people sleeping on their street, but hold the country’s economy to a higher importance than human lives. I think the minimum wage should be raised gradually, not particularly to $15 an hour, but for sure over $7.25.

Maeve H. ~ junior

Dear Editor, 

I think that the minimum wage should not go up because if it does, then everything else increases too.Prices will go up and it inevitably makes the prices the same. A grown adult with a serious job is going to make more than minimum wage also, so you can’t fully base raising it off of that.I believe that there are more ways to make money without working hard, like filing for unemployment. If the minimum wage was raised to &15 then we would have serious inflation issues and money would lose it’s worth. My argument is that even if the minimum wage was increased, doesn’t mean all the prices for items are going to stay the same.

Claire M. ~ sophomore