Minimum wage seems to be such a hot topic among people today.
It sure does! Everyone's opinions about the benefits and drawbacks of a minimum wage are so varied!
Especially waiters/waitresses. Sometimes they can make good money with tips. But sometimes when they are slow and only make $2.13 an hour, they come home with less then $10 for the day.
I used to wait tables, so I know that struggle! Supporters of a minimum wage claim that it reduces poverty, increases standards of living and boosts morale. Do you agree with that?
I think so! You feel what you feel you are worth! Nobody wants to work for nothing. The more money someone makes, the more they spend, the more business booms! It's a cycle!
I agree 100%! Opponents of minimum wage claims that it actually increases poverty and is damaging to businesses. They say businesses much increase their prices to pay workers minimum wage. Can you imagine if we didn't have it? Businesses would probably try to pay $3 an hour!
Back in my high school days, I worked at Dairy Queen and they were allowed to pay me $3 an hour with no tips! I am not sure how it was legal. But it was terrible!
the full effects of minimum wages.
The movement for minimum wages was first motivated as a way to stop the exploitation of workers in sweatshops, by employers who were thought to have unfair bargaining power over them. Over time, minimum wages came to be seen as a way to help lower-income families. Modern national laws enforcing compulsory union membership which prescribed minimum wages for their members were first passed in New Zealand and Australia in the 1890s. 
Although minimum wage laws are in effect in many jurisdictions, differences of
territories (such as American Samoa) are exempt. Some types of labor are also exempt: Employers may pay tipped labor a minimum of $2.13 per hour, as long as the hour wage plus tip income equals at least the minimum wage. Persons under the age of 20 may be paid $4.25 an hour for the first 90 calendar days of employment (sometimes known as a youth, teen, or training wage) unless a higher state minimum exists. The 2009 increase was the last of three steps of the Fair