The idea of ​​having a federal minimum wage is a good one. The idea is to protect low-skilled and unskilled workers from discrimination and allow all workers to earn a living wage. The recent debate on the floor, however, is whether or not to raise the minimum wage from the current $7.25 an hour up to $10.10 an hour. President Barack Obama made this proposal during his annual State of the Union address on January 28, and there were many heated debates about it afterward. Debates focused not only on the advantages and disadvantages of raising the minimum wage, but also on alternatives to increasing it. There are many benefits to raising the minimum wage, most of which are quite simple to understand and make some people think there is no reason not to raise the minimum wage. The first, and most important, benefit of raising the minimum wage is that most workers would be able to work to earn a living wage, a wage high enough to allow workers to maintain a normal standard of living. This is very important, because the more people who are able to maintain a normal standard of living means that there are fewer people living below the poverty line. Going beyond this point, raising the minimum wage, thus increasing the number of workers able to earn a living wage, will reduce the need for social programs, such as unemployment, welfare, SNAP, etc., because there will be fewer people living in decent levels. or below the poverty line who qualify for these programs. The next step is that a higher minimum wage will increase workers' incentive to work, and it will also increase the incentive of the non-labor force population to join the workforce and look for work. Adding more people to the workforce means companies have a higher... middle of paper... or a higher minimum wage." The New York Times February 8, 2014: SR10. Print.Henderson, David R.. "The Most of the benefits of a minimum wage increase would not go to poor families." Most of the benefits of a minimum wage increase would not go to poor families, Jan. 13, 2014. Web Feb. 22, 2014. "Minimum Wage Laws in States United States - Wage and Hour Division (WHD) - United States Department of Labor." Minimum Wage Laws in the United States - Wage and Hour Division (WHD) - United States Department of Labor, January 1, 2014. Web. 22 April 2014. Barro, Josh. “A Smarter Alternative to Raising the Minimum Wage.” BloombergView.com, February 13, 2014. Web. 2014. .