Most countries have a minimum wage. The minimum wage in the United states was most recently raised to $7.25/hr, on July 24, 2009. At this rate, a person working a 40-hour week for 52 weeks a year at minimum wage earns $15,080.00 for the year. The minimum wage is higher in many states, such as [[New Jersey]], due to state minimum wage laws.
Increases in the minimum wage cause students to drop out of school in order to join the workforce, rather than continue their education for higher paying jobs in their future. Like all market forces, wages are payed based on interactions between the supply curve (how much workers are willing to supply a particular type of labor at a certain wage) and a demand curve (how many workers of a particular type a firm is willing to hire at a particular wage). Wages are typically set at [[equilibrium]]. If a minimum wage is imposed that is above this equilibrium, it leads to structural [[unemployment]]. If a minimum wage is set below the equilibrium point, it is unlikely to affect that jobs job's wage unless a complement or substitute job's equilibrium wage is less than the minimum wage (causing ripple effects throughout the related markets).
==Political views==