[{"msgID":"468","topic":"Minimum Wage","message":"Raising federal minimum wage to $15 per hour throughout the entire country will only benefit people that are living in low-income states. For example, if the minimum wage was changed to 15$ in New York, no one would be able to solely live off of minimum wage.","count":"5","completed":"5"},{"msgID":"213","topic":"Minimum Wage","message":"I think that the federal minimum wage should be $15 per hour. The current federal minimum wage, which is $7.25, is no longer a living wage. A full time employee who is working for the federal minimum wage currently will make around $15,000 per year which is below the poverty line. In order to be above the poverty level, which is approximately $26,000 per year, a minimum wage employee would need to be making at least $13 per hour. The cost of living has significantly increased over the past few years and is expected to continue to rise. With this, the minimum wage, which should be a living wage, should also increase. According to Investopedia, a minimum wage worker would have to work around 122 hours weekly, 52 weeks a year to afford a two bedroom apartment. This is absolutely absurd. If the minimum wage were to increase, companies might feel pressured to hire less employees and\/or increase the price of their goods, which could present more difficulties in the job market and further increase the cost of living.","count":"5","completed":"5"},{"msgID":"270","topic":"Minimum Wage","message":"The current minimum wage is around 7 dollars and twenty five cents, of which one obtains around 5 dollars post tax. This is ridiculous. I used to work for minimum wage and had little money to spend. I understand, that it was not a job that required a vast array of skills, but considering that this minimum wage was that from a long time ago and we have since gone through inflation, it is unfair to people to have this little money at their disposal. Furthermore the minimum wage should be elevated, because many low income families depend on it. Now imagine having two part time jobs, because you have to feed your kids and pay rent. Even if you work for 5 hours at one job, then go work five hours at the other you're looking at 50 dollars that day post tax. Per month that's about 1500 dollars. maybe 300 of that goes to rent if you live in a sparsely populated state. But then you also need gas for your car, need to pay for any further expenses for your family, and need to put food on the table. Then, oh no, something breaks - more money needed. But where from?","count":"5","completed":"5"},{"msgID":"159","topic":"Minimum Wage","message":"The federal minimum wage should be raised to $15 an hour because the current minimum wage is not a livable wage. By raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, families who are forced to live while working on the minimum wage would be able to sustain themselves. However, I only slightly agree because $15 for a minimum wage is still not a living wage in some places. Raising the minimum wage taxes other families more, and while the upper class may be able to afford this, some middle class families will not be able too. Additionally, the purpose of implementing a minimum wage is to protect workers, but the minimum wage is not what people should strive to make. Starting at the minimum wage and working upwards, those workers should be able to graduate from minimum wage jobs. This can be contradictory, however, since not everyone has the same opportunity, and not all can get a job greater than the minimum wage. An increase in minimum wage necessary because the time  period in which we are living in now, and the current economy, is much different from when the original minimum wage was created. While minimum wage has increased, it has not done so in accordance to inflation. This must be corrected, and increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour would do so","count":"5","completed":"5"}]