Billions of Americans are making minimum wage but is that really enough for a family to live on? Some believe that minimum wage increases would actually stimulate the economy rather that hurt it.

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Shelly Flores

English 102

Professor Canow

Exploratory Paper

Billions of Americans are making minimum wage but is that really enough for a family to live on?

Have you ever lived on minimum wage? If not, do you think you could? Do you think minimum wage should be higher, or is it enough to survive ...Minimum wage is defined as, "A wage below which employers may not legally pay employees for specific kinds of employment." There however, is a different definition of living wage. Living wage is the amount of money one would need to make in order to stay above federal poverty lines.

Some believe that minimum wage increases would actually stimulate the economy rather that hurt it. Michael Reich, an economics professor and director of the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment at the University of California, Berkeley, said his research has shown that businesses don't suffer from having to dish out slightly higher wages to their lowest-paid employees. In fact, he argued there are benefits to employers.

"The labor market absorbs the minimum wage," said Reich. "Turnover goes way down when there's a minimum-wage increase. Employees --