I have a better idea, instead of raising the minimum wage, how about the government stop devaluing the dollar. That would help the poor out much more!!!

Nobody is forced to work a minimum wage job. Stop wining and start a business, like go to your pawn shop and buy a lawn mower and edger and cut lawns, i did. It was my first business at 13 years old because my dad did not want to buy me a bike so, i did. By the time i wa 22 years old i had 5 trucks and trailers fully equiped with lawn equipment and an account of 3 apartments and 112 residential lawns and my mother was my bookkeeper who i paid a full salary to. I sold it for $185,000.00 and started a construction business with my brother and sold it after 17 years for $485,000.00 Stop complaining and get off your butts.

why all the complaints?  if obama says all ok then all is ok.  why cant you obedient slaves listen to the master?  soon as the guns are gone your gonna listen, real close.

Do away with the minimum wage all together, the economy will dictate a "minimun wage". The idea of a minimum wage for the whole entire country does not make sense. Here in the town I live in you could make it on minimum wage being that there are plenty of $300-400 rentals, but in other parts of the country there are much greater prices to rent. One wage for everywhere is outdated!

What's never reported is how much taxpayers have to subsidize full-time workers with food stamps, low-cost housing, free school lunches, SCHIP healthcare for kids, etc.  If those things were NOT available, the employers would most likely have to pay more so that the worker would be able to survive and show up for work each day: otherwise, why does he/she need those things?  Consequently that extra money skimmed by the employer is an indirect form of welfare.  If you raise the minumum wage to $9 from $7.25, it will be the rich employer who has to reduce feeding off the taxpayer!  And in a fast-food restaurant, where there may be a crew of 8 plus a manager, if all 8 are making minimum wage and you raise it from $7.25 to $9, it will add (including extra employer FICA contributions) about $120 in costs for an 8 hour shift.  That's about 1% of the typical take.  So you'd have to raise the price of a $5 burger to $5.05 to pay for it.  And by the way, McD's avg. worker may be making $7.76 and hour, but cousins of mine who own four McDonalds in northern Maryland have been paying $10/hr or more since before the recession.  They say it results in better workers and fewer headaches.  And they still made enough to buy a minor league baseball team.

Proof that this money expert is no economist (or much of an expert): "Employers have already cut headcount and raised productivity as much as they can; now, in order to sustain growth they must either increase wages".  Raising wages does NOT increase productivity - nor does it help sustain growth.  Do you become more talented simply by getting a raise?  No - of course not.  But - if you gain skills, you can get a raise because you're more valuable.  Cart before the horse, Mr. Mirhaydari.  You can not legislate productivity.  The Soviet Union tried - but it can't be done.

Higher wages will come not from a socialist law but from the result of Socialist spending and printing of money this is called Inflation. We have it in our food and oil already not to mention gold silver on and on. As people notice lower dollar the will be forced to seek higher pay only resulting in a greater increase in prices. This chain reaction can be viewed in recent history government run economics use to be called the USSR. Now refereed to by the name Democrat.

Everyone makes the comment that if you raise minimum wages prices will go up.  I have news for you, prices go up whether you raise wages or not.  Gas has went up, food has went up, utillities have went up, all without a minimum wage increase, so that those who work minimum wage can afford less and less of the basic necessities of life.  Raising the minimum wage isn't designed to make workers rich, it's designed to make the basics of life affordable, so that you can keep a roof over your head and food and power WITHOUT having to go on the dole.  Of course, if you'd rather have more and more people on the welfare rolls because they can't earn a living by working, than by all means, leave the minimum wage stagnant and let the prices of the basics keep on increasing.

Raising the minimum wage sounds great, but does nothing for the people currently earning minimum wage.  If there is a gain, it is short term.  In order for a buisness to pay its bills, it will raise the prices of goods to offset the cost of the increased wage.  The minimum wage earner will be right back where they started.  Sure they make more money, but the value of their dollar is the same as before the wage increase.  Meanwhile, the middle income earners will see a decrease in the value of their dollar since the wage increase is not affecting them.  The rich can afford any increase, so they are minimally affected.  in the end, the middle income earners are the group that is affected the most and it is a negative affect..