In populist appeal, Obama spotlights minimum wage

As someone who has struggled financially at a job making minimum wage and living paycheck to paycheck, I thought I would completely support a minimum wage increase nationally. Yes, it's definitely difficult to make ends meet while only making the minimum $7.25 (in Wisconsin) per hour, but there are so many more issues that need to be considered before this gets passed into law. 

By making the proposed $10.10 per hour, an average full-time worker could expect to make $404 before taxes on a weekly basis. I'm not saying they'll be rich, but it's a definite improvement from the $290 they'd be making weekly at only $7.25 an hour. Although it all appears promising when you look at the numbers, there's much more. 

If a high school senior can see that they're able to make that amount of money by getting a job anywhere, what motivation will there be to attend college? Sure, nobody wants to make less than $400 (when you consider taxes) a week for the rest of their lives, but it's definitely a starting point. It's not going to turn them into millionaires, but if a McDonald's worker is making the same amount as an office receptionist, there's no incentive to go to college. 

Yes, increasing the minimum wage will help those in extreme poverty be able to fight back a little better but there is a lot more to this discussion than just the numbers. I've only provided one other thing to take into consideration, the motivation and incentive to do better, but rest assure that there are many many more points.


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http://www.jsonline.com/business/national/in-connecticut-obama-to-spotlight-minimum-wage03056428caef4012979f4e9e8b9e720b-248504201.html