Imagine working 10 hours a day, six days a week on a minimum wage. Because you earn far below the poverty line, you’ve had to give up your car and your house, and you rely on food stamps in order to be able to afford something to eat.

Sometimes, you don’t have enough money for the bus to and from work, so you walk, rain or shine.

This story is a reality for many of the hundreds of thousands of workers that earn the federal minimum wage. First established by the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938 at $0.25, the federal minimum wage has remained at $7.25 since 2009, nearly 15 years ago.

Due to inflation, the federal minimum wage in 2021 was worth 21% less than 12 years prior, and worth 34% less than in 1968, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

Despite the stagnation of the minimum wage, the cost of living in the United States continues to rise, as the price of goods and services increases.

Therefore, the federal minimum wage should be raised to protect vulnerable low-wage workers from rising costs of living and alleviate income inequality.

An increase to the federal minimum wage would undoubtedly provide millions of low-wage workers a livable wage. An analysis from MIT found that the hourly wage required to cover the cost of food, healthcare, housing, and other basic necessities in the United States was $16.54 per hour.

The current federal minimum wage sits at less than half that amount.

It is an unquestionable fact that a low-wage worker cannot afford to pursue an...

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