How many of us think that the minimum wage is to low? I can say that about 80% of the people who read this said, “me.” Minimum wage in Massachusetts is eight dollars an hour, and I think that minimum wage should be raised to a more reasonable amount. I’m a 19 year old girl who works at Domino’s Pizza for eight dollars an hour. I constantly ask myself why the minimum wage is so low. I believe that we should make enough money to live comfortably in a two bedroom apartment. I live with my boyfriend in a two bedroom apartment with a roommate. My rent is 750 dollars a month and we divide it into three, that is without utilities being included. I’m a full-time student at BCC so I can only work part-time. On average i make 120 dollars a week and its been hard to pay all my bills. I sometimes don’t even have money for gas or even food. No one wants to live like this. I feel like many young adults don’t attend college because they have to be working 40 hours or more to support themselves or even there family. According to USA TODAY, here in MA, we have to work an average of 120 hours a week at minimum wage to afford rent (Network).
Today’s gas prices are high for what we earn on a minimum wage job. We all need transportation to get to our jobs. As of today, regular gas is $3.68 a gallon (“Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Prices”). My car gets filled up with about $60 worth of gas, that’s a full 8 hour shift of work to pay gas and some people’s car takes up more than just $60 and may have to work more hours. It is frustrating to see all these TV commercials coming out with all these new cars that are very fuel-efficient. For example, the Mitsubishi I-Miev is one of the most fuel-efficient cars out in the market. It runs on 104 MPG (miles per gallon) in the city, 116 MPG on the highway, overall it runs 111MPG( “The Most Fuel-Efficient Cars”). This car costs $22,995( “Cars. Mitsubishi I-MiEV”). The real question is how are we suppose to fix our gas problems with these new cars coming out, when we can barely afford to live in an apartment with this minimum wage. Car companies try to come up with solutions for the gas prices, while the government doesn’t do nothing about this minimum wage.
Food keeps getting more expensive as time goes by. Many more people get food stamps day by day because they cant afford the cost of food. Out of the Mass population, 12.3% are on food stamps (Food Stamp Statistics). Families are also being affected by this low minimum wage, “According to economist James Galbraith, raising the minimum wage would raise the incomes of 28 million Americans” (Five Reasons).
“Five Reasons Why We Should Raise the Minimum Wage.” Saloncom RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014.
“Food Stamp Statistics.” Statistic Brain RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2014.
“The Most Fuel-Efficient Cars | Best Cars for Gas – Consumer Reports.” The Most Fuel-Efficient Cars | Best Cars for Gas – Consumer Reports. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2014.
“Cars.” Mitsubishi I-MiEV. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2014.
“Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Prices for April 29, 2014.” Energy and Environmental Affairs. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2014.
“Network, Jolie Lee. “How Many Hours Must Minimum-Wage Earners Work to Afford Rent?” USA Today. Gannett, 26 Mar. 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
Quick notes:
–Your personal story works well as intro, but get to a thesis statement in para. 1. “Minimum wage should be raised (maybe to $X) because …”
–The gas/car details are fine, but you need more info on other aspects of life (I assume this is still in progress?) Also may want to look at stats for families with children. What percent of famillies/wage earners are trying to live on minimum wage? Could you argue that it would be better not only for these individuals but also for society as a whole if wages were higher? What is/are the counterargument(s) that opponents use? (You should be able to find counterarguments in research). And how would you address these pints that opponents make?
–Some tweaking necessary on Works Cited with first one (others look good!) and remember to alphabetize sources.