There are so many things that go into a discussion and what the issues are with having minimum wages and whether they should be raised or not. 1: Minimum wage jobs usually require no special skills or education level and can be done by anyone willing and physically capable, of doing the job 2: If the minimum wage is increased, costs go up, prices go, people in skilled jobs or jobs that require education demand pay increases, costs and prices go up again 3: People who earn minimum wage should not try to live like they make more than minimum wage, i.e. latest i-phone, HD TV, etc. 4: The state of the economy is forcing some people who can do skilled work or that are educated to take min wage jobs as a last resort, therfore skewing the min wage workforce towards more people who actually need more money to survive than a min wage job provides. I could keep going, but I doubt most of you want to read a novel. I have worked minimum wage in the past, multiple jobs at once to make ends meet. I decided to get a better paying job. I realize that not everyone can do that, especially in today's job market, but minimum wage jobs are really meant for high school kids, college students who want to work through school (at least until they can get an internship/job with similar skill development) and perhaps people who ONLY want to work part time to stay busy or help boost the family income for a short while. The best way to fix the minimum wage problem is to improve the economy, not increase minimum wage.