By: Kathrine Hindo Larsa Gorges David Ziegeler Samia Kamal Minimum Wage: Democrats By: Kathrine Hindo Larsa Gorges David Ziegeler Samia Kamal

Gives Money to More Hands Increasing the minimum wage helps the 13 million single family homes in the US. A person earning$7.25 an hour makes $14,500 a year which is under the poverty line for families. The same person earning $10.10 makes $20,200 a year, which surpasses the poverty line of a family. Increasing the minimum wage helps many others as well. In fact, 27 million people in the us will get a raise.

Good for Business Increasing the minimum wage will cause people to have more money to spend on businesses. In fact, consumer spending drives 70% of the economy Raising the minimum wage will generate $22 billion in the new economic activity.

Reduces Employee Turnover and Increases Productivity Raising the minimum wage reduces turnover (rate at which employees leave a company) because they are more likely to stay with the employer when they are paid more. For example, when workers in the San Francisco airport got their wage raised from $6,45 to $10, turnover plunged from 95% to 19%. Raising the minimum wage also increases productivity because workers are more likely to work harder when they are getting paid well. For example, in the same airport, 35% of employers reported improvements in work performance.

Counter Argument: Small Business Owners Don’t Support a Raise in Minimum Wage It is not true that small businesses are against raising the minimum wage. In fact, they do support it. A June 2014 survey found that 3 out of 5 small business owners are for increasing the minimum wage. Also, 58% of small business owners agree that increasing the minimum wage will cause consumers to spend more money.