Two in three people think the minimum wage should be raised, but businesses think differently. About 30% of all workers earn minimum wage. Minimum wage workers are typically younger women working in service jobs, such as the restaurant industry or the retail sector. While many people believe that an increase in the minimum wage will reduce the number of people living in poverty, an increase in the minimum wage will actually increase the number of people living in poverty. In the United States, the issue of the minimum wage is controversial. The minimum wage is the lowest wage a worker can receive. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay President Franklin Delano Roosevelt initiated the federal minimum wage during the Great Depression. The minimum wage was first set at 0.25 cents per hour. Since 1938, it has been raised 22 times. It was last increased in 2009 to $7.25 an hour. Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have set a higher minimum wage, ranging from $7.85 in Missouri to $15.64 in Seatac, Washington. Raising the federal minimum wage will increase the number of people living in poverty. An increase in the minimum wage would cause small businesses to lay off their employees, leading to an increase in the unemployment rate. In one survey, 38% of all small business employers paying the minimum wage said they would have to lay off workers if the rate were to increase. Unemployment levels are estimated to increase by 2.1%. Many companies are even looking to replace minimum wage workers with robots. Many experts also believe that an increase in the minimum wage would increase the poverty level of families, as studies have shown that when the minimum wage increases, employers reduce each employee's work hours. This reduction in hours reduces the net remuneration of employees. "The higher the wages, the higher the costs of production. The higher the costs of production, the higher the prices. The higher the prices, the higher the quantities of goods and services demanded and the number of workers employed to their production are low." Thomas Grennes, MA, professor emeritus at North Carolina State University. Poor households can become even poorer either through the loss of their jobs or through the loss of working hours. An increase in the minimum wage will also affect adolescent employment. It's a common misconception that minimum wage workers are single parents trying to earn income to support their families. Minimum wage jobs are for high school students who want to earn extra money or students who are trying to pay for college. More than half of minimum wage earners are between 16 and 24 years old and 79% of them are part-time employees. Many small business employers are unwilling to pay such high wages to teenagers or unskilled workers. This causes significant unemployment among adolescents. According to a study by Thomas A. Mroz, Ph.D., and Timothy H. Savage, Ph.D., for the Employment Political Institute, "those who face unemployment at an early age have lower earning years and an increased likelihood of "Many experts also believe that an increase in the minimum wage also increases..