Minimum wage has been an on going debate for a while now. Should we raise it? Should we lower it? There has been a lot of buzz about it and everyone has different opinions on what they think the government should do.
In Pennsylvania as of right now the hourly rate for minimum wage is $7.25. To a lot of people that seems a little low. You work so many hours a week and by the time you see your paycheck, it is barely anything at all. I can honestly agree where everyone is coming from. If it were my decision, I would raise minimum wage in a heartbeat.
Here is one example. I started working at Rita’s Water Ice in high school. When I first started off I was making $7.25, which seemed like a lot of money at the time because I barely needed money to go out. Now I am a college student. There are a lot of essentials and responsibilities that require me to be making an efficient amount of money. I have been there for four years now and just made it to $8.00 an hour. To me, I do not really think that is a lot at all. I worked hours upon hours a week just to make
enough money to go on vacation or pay my cellphone bill.
Now some people would disagree with the whole risin
g of minimum wage. They would both say go out and get a real job or find something that pays higher. I currently work at Bath and Body Works where I start out at $10.00 an hour, w
hich is a lot better than working at Rita’s and getting paid the amount I do. But what happened if someone could not get a job that pays higher? What if someone was not qualified for an “efficient job?” What is that person supposed to do then?
I understand that times are tough and the economy may not be at its best but I feel like if someone is willing work hard and put in the amount of hours, then they should be making more than $7.25. If for some reason minimum wage was not raised and people still started at $7.25, then hopefully that job gives a lot of hours or gives out raises frequently because majority of people are sick of getting paid minimum wage for the amount of hours they put in. Believe me, I was there once and I would never want to go back.
