Imagine you are a low wage worker. You don’t make enough money for you and your family. All of a sudden, then next day the minimum wage gets raised to $15. For the next few weeks you start earning a lot more than you usually earn. You have enough to give your family what they need. Wouldn't this make you happy?

The decision of whether or not to raise the minimum wage is very important. The raise is important because it could help people or it could make poverty worse. For example, the raise could help people that do not have enough money for their family or it could make jobs break down or make people lose their jobs. Raising or not raising the minimum wage could be argued about because there are many opinions of whether to raise wages or to not raise wages. Some people may say the raise will give them enough money to live on and the increase would make jobs and economies grow. Others may argue that the raise would make people lose jobs and make poverty even worse. This paper will argue of the side raising the minimum wage amount.

One example would be that increasing the minimum wage would help reduce poverty and would make a big impact on people's lives. People say the increase would benefit as many as 800,000 low-wage workers citywide. “The Council in Los Angeles decided that the increase would reduce poverty”(Los Angeles city council clears way for minimum wage of $15 an hour Newsela article), said by labor activist Maria Elena Durazo. Business professor, Jerry Newman, said “It would make a big impact on people's lives economically and socially”(Los Angeles city council clears way for minimum wage of $15 an hour Newsela article).

Also, people say an increased minimum wage would help jobs improve and that it would help workers earn more money. People who fight for workers’ rights see the $15 minimum wage raise as a way to cure the problems faced by poor people. Also millions of workers would have more money in their pockets, boosting demand for goods and services. The government thinks that if the minimum wage went up to $15 tomorrow, nearly half of workers would get a least a 50% increase.

The last example would be that people that work at jobs, such as McDonalds, wouldn’t quit their jobs and they are building school programs for their workers. Low-wage workers at McDonald's are organizing, protesting, and even striking, calling for higher wages and better working conditions. They are even paying for high school
and college classes.

On the other hand, while a minimum wage raise would help people, the raise could also make stuff worse such as poverty getting worse and people losing their jobs. For example, overall, a raise could make stuff worse. People say that the raise could lead to many low-wage workers getting less in government benefits. Another example would be that people say that the minimum wage raise could hurt the people the raise is intended to help. But while this may happen, an increase of minimum wage could also make economy improve and allow places to upgrade in a way. Rafael Gutierrez said the raise would let him treat his family to weekend dinners out and a short vacation to Disneyland.

While raising the minimum wage could make inflation increase, it could also help people get enough to get by. Instead of keeping the minimum as it is, the government should cast votes to see what the people think. The minimum wage should be raised because it could help jobs improve, help people earn enough to get by, and the raise could help people stay at their jobs.