This document summarizes the key issues around raising the federal minimum wage in the United States. It begins by defining a living wage and outlining the current federal and state minimum wages. It then discusses who would benefit from a wage increase, including many adults with some college education working full-time. The benefits cited include increased consumer spending and economic growth. Potential drawbacks include possible job losses. Social workers advocate for raising minimum wage to help reduce poverty. The document concludes by recommending increasing the minimum wage to $15 per hour nationally to better enable people to afford basic needs like housing.

1. B Y J A C Q U E L I N E G A M B L E
RAISING THE FEDERAL
MINIMUM WAGE

2. LIVING WAGE DEFINED
“A living wage is defined as a wage sufficient to
provide the necessities and comforts essential to an
acceptable standard of living. An individual working
40 hours per week would be able to afford food,
child care, medical, housing, transportation and
other expenses for his family.”
- Mel Wilson, manager of NASW’s Department of
Social Justice and Human Rights

3. • Federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.
• A person receiving minimum wage and working 40
hours per week may make $15,080 per year.
• The federal poverty level (FPL) for an individual is
$11,770 per year (Federal poverty level).
• The FPL for a family of four is $24,250 per year
(Federal poverty level).
• In 2013, there were 45.3 million people living in
poverty (more than 14% of the population) (USA
quickfacts).
CURRENTLY IN AMERICA…

4. • State minimum wage is $9.15 per hour.
• A person receiving minimum wage and working 40
hours per week may make $19,032 per year.
• State minimum wage will increase each year until
2018 when it reaches $10.50 per hour.
• In 2013, there were approximately 74,000 people
living in poverty (almost 12% of the population)
(About poverty).
CURRENTLY IN VERMONT…

5. PRESIDENT OBAMA’S CALL
TO RAISE MINIMUM WAGE
• In 2014, President Obama asked Congress to raise the
federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour (Executive
Office of the President).
• Congressional Republicans have blocked any proposal
to raise the federal minimum wage (Executive Office of
the President).
• 29 states, plus the District of Columbia, have minimum
wages set higher than the federal minimum wage
(Executive Office of the President).
• Some cities, such as Philadelphia, Louisville, and St. Louis
have recently raised minimum wages (Executive Office
of the President).

6. WHO WILL BE HELPED BY
RAISING MINIMUM WAGE?
• Raising the minimum wage would boost the wages
of 28 million working Americans. Of this:
• 88% are aged 20 years and older (Cooper & Hall).
• 42% have at least some college education (Cooper & Hall).
• 54% have full-time jobs (Cooper & Hall).
• 55% are women (Cooper & Hall).
• 56% are non-Hispanic Caucasian (Cooper & Hall).
• 26% are families with children (How could a $10.10).
• 12% are teenagers under 18 (How could a $10.10).

7. BENEFITS OF RAISING
MINIMUM WAGE
• Raising the minimum wage would boost the
economy in the following ways:
• Increased earnings will lead to increased spending on
previously unaffordable products and services Cooper &
Hall).
• Increased demand for products and services may lead to
job growth and development by employers (Cooper &
Hall).
• Raising the minimum wage to $9 would restore its real value
to what it was in 1981, before it was lessoned by inflation
(The President’s Plan).

8. DRAWBACKS OF RAISING
MINIMUM WAGE
• The drawbacks for raising the minimum wage include:
• Some economists believe that some workers will lose their jobs.
• Higher paid workers may demand more money if lower paid
workers’ wages increase. This could cause smaller businesses
financial hardship (NPR staff).
• Businesses may increase the prices of their products and
services (Weissmann).
• “If wages are higher, employers are less likely to take a chance
on people with less experience because it’s a big investment.
Fewer people would get a shot at proving themselves.” – Kevin
Hassett, Economist at the American Enterprise Institute (Fox &
Aratari).

9. HOW SOCIAL WORKERS ARE
HELPING
• Social workers work closely with people living in poverty.
• Many of these people receive government assistance to help
pay for basic needs, such as housing, food, medical costs,
and clothing (Cohen).
• Increasing minimum wage would help impoverished individuals
receive a livable wage (Cooper & Hall).
• The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is providing
advocacy by urging individuals to ask their state
representatives to raise the minimum wage in their states. This
advocacy helps raise awareness to the issue (Poverty).
• “[Social workers] have joined forces with Congress to increase
the minimum wage and have advocated for the importance
of ending poverty rather than simply reducing the number of
welfare participants.” – excerpt from the NASWs’ website
(Poverty).

10. RELATING THE MINIMUM WAGE ISSUE
WITH OUR CLASSWORK
• The current federal minimum wage is too low for
most people to be able to earn a livable wage.
Even people making more than the minimum wage
are often not making enough to cover basic needs.
This is a widespread problem throughout the nation,
and increasing the minimum wage is a solution
(essential objective 6).
• Increasing minimum wage would empower people
to better provide for their families, which could help
them climb Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

11. MY RECOMMENDATIONS
“In the richest country on the face of the earth, no one who works 40 hours a week should be living in poverty.” –
Senator Bernie Sanders
• Increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour.
• Enable more people to afford housing.
• At the current federal minimum wage, a person spending 30% of their income on
rent can afford an apartment that is $375 per month (Out of reach).
• The current Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $806 per month. It is
$1,006 for a two-bedroom apartment (Out of reach).
• A person making $7.25 per hour would have to work 86 hour per week to afford a
one-bedroom apartment, or 107 hours per week to afford a two-bedroom
apartment (Out of reach).
• A person needs to make $15 or more per hour in more than half of the states and
Washington D.C. in order to afford a two-bedroom apartment (see graphic on
next slide) (Out of reach).
• Reduce the number of people requiring public assistance.
• Many low-wage workers cannot afford basic needs and rely on public assistance
to pay for housing, medical care, child care, and food (Cohen).
• “After five years with [McDonalds], [Adriana] Alvaraz, 22, earns $10.50 an hour…
Still, she depends on food stamps, Medicaid, and a child-care subsidy to help get
through the week” (Cohen).
• 48% of home health care workers, 46% of child care workers, and 52% of fast-food
workers are on public assistance (Cohen).

12. Courtesy of the National Low Income Housing Coalition

13. MY RECOMMENDATIONS
• Increase the minimum wage for tipped workers.
• Most tipped workers earn just above minimum wage.
• The median wage for waiters/waitresses is $8.92 per hour (Tipped
workers).
• Tipped workers are twice as likely to fall below the federal poverty
line (Tipped workers).
• Tipped workers are three times more likely to need food stamps
(Tipped workers).
• Tips are unreliable (Tipped workers).
• Seven states have already set the base wages of tipped
workers to meet the full minimum wage.
• Tipped workers making a base pay that is equivalent to the
minimum wage are 25% less likely to fall beneath the federal
poverty line (Tipped workers).
• The restaurant industry in these states are thriving, and are even
projected to exceed the national average (Tipped workers).

14. BEFORE DOING THIS ASSIGNMENT, WHAT DID YOU KNOW
ABOUT THE POLICY ISSUES YOU RESEARCHED? HAS THIS
ASSIGNMENT HELPED YOU BETTER UNDERSTAND THE ISSUES
OR CONFUSED ISSUES FURTHER? WHY OR WHY NOT?
I have been a proponent for raising the minimum wage for
quite some time now. Before this project, I understood that
doing so would decrease poverty in our nation. However, I
feared that an increase in minimum wage could lead to
job loss and businesses suffering. Through my research, I
now understand that businesses would likely not be
hindered by a wage increase, and could see an increase
in demand for their services and products as people are
able to spend more money.
I also didn’t realize that the minimum wage is set as low as
it is ($2.13 nationally and $4.17 in Vermont). This is way too
low, especially for workers who are supporting a family.

15. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON PUBLIC POLICY, ITS DEVELOPMENT AND
IMPLEMENTATION, AND THE FIELD OF SOCIAL WORK? IS IT IMPORTANT FOR
SOCIAL WORKERS TO BE INVOLVED IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND
IMPLEMENTATION OF PUBLIC POLICY? WHY OR WHY NOT?
Public policy is implemented once a social problem is
recognized. We need public policy in order to ensure that
people are able to live in a way that is safe, healthy, and
enjoyable. Without public policy, we would not have much-
needed services, such as public assistance. And without public
policy, there would not be a current push to increase minimum
wage, which will better the lives of millions of Americans.
Social workers play an important part in the implementation of
public policy because they are often seeing first-hand how
serious social problems are. They are working with clients who
cannot afford to pay for their basic needs, even if they are
working a full-time job. Because social workers are witnessing
these problems, they have the knowledge and leverage to
advocate for change.

16. EVALUATE THE RESOURCES YOU USED AS YOU COMPLETED
THIS ASSIGNMENT. WHAT DID YOU FIND MOST USEFUL? WHY?
WHAT WAS THE LEAST USEFUL? WHY? WHAT WOULD MAKE
THIS RESOURCE BETTER?
I used several resources from each of the following categories:
• Newspapers
• Government sites, including WhiteHouse.gov.
• Organizations sites, including NASW
I would say that all of the resources I used were helpful, but if I have to
choose one that was the most helpful, I would have to say WhiteHouse.gov
because it provided information about the policy, as well as the benefits for
implementing it.
Newspapers were also very helpful in providing both the benefits and
downfalls to raising the minimum wage (though I must say, for each
downfall I found, I also found studies proving otherwise). The newspapers
also provided personal stories, which while they are subjective to each
person, together they help to paint a more complete story.
The least useful resource was surprisingly the NASW’s website. I spent a
good amount of time perusing the site in search of information about
minimum wage, but I only found a lot of outdated information, or brief
comments saying that they are advocating for a wage increase, but no
specifics as to how or why.

17. REFERENCES PAGE 1
About poverty: 2013 highlights. (2014). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved from
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/about/overview/
Cohen, P. (2015). Working, but needing public assistance anyway. The New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/13/business/economy/working-but-needing-public-assistance-anyway.html
Cooper, D. & Hall, D. (2012). How raising the federal minimum wage would help working families and give the
economy a boost. Economic Policy Institute. Retrieved from http://www.epi.org/publication/ib341-raising-federal-
minimum -wage/
Executive Office of the President. (2014). A year of action: progress report on raising the minimum wage. White
House. Retrieved from http://whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/minimim_wage_report2.pdf
Federal poverty level. (2015). HealthCare.gov. Retrieved from https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/federal-
poverty-level-FPL/
Fox, E., & Aratari, D. (2015). Should the minimum wage be raised? CNN. Retrieved from
http://money.cnn.com/infographic/pf/low-wage-worker/
How could a $10.10 minimum wage help workers make ends meet? (2014). White House. Retrieved from
http://www.whitehouse.gov/raise-the-wage

18. REFERENCES PAGE 2
NPR Staff. (2012). Raising minimum wage: a help or harm? NPR. Retrieved from
http://www.npr.org/2012/07/08/156458470/raising-minimum-wage-a-help-or-harm
Out of reach 2015: facts overview. (2015). National Low Income Housing Coalition. Retrieved from
http://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/oor/OOR2015_Factsheet.pdf
Poverty. (n.d.). National Association of Social Workers. Retrieved from
https://www.socialworkers.org/pressroom/features/issue/poverty.asp
The president’s plan to reward work by raising the minimum wage. (n.d.). The White House. Retrieved from
http://whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/uploads/sotu_minimum_wage.pdf
Tipped workers. (2015). Raise the Minimum Wage.org. Retrieved from
http://raisietheminimumwage.org/pages/tipped-workers
USA quickfacts. (2015). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved from http://quickfacts.cenus.
Gov/qfd/states/00000.html.
Weissmann, J. (2013). Should we raise the minimum wage? 11 questions and answers. The Atlantic. Retrieved from
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/12/should-we-raise-the-minimum-wage-11-questions-and-
answers/282326/

19. REFERENCES PAGE 3
Wilson, M. (2014). Fight for minimum wage increase not over. National Association of Social Workers
Retrieved from http://www.socialworkblog.org/advocacy/2014/05/fight-for-minimum-wage-increase-not-
over/