Minimum wage refers to the lowest legal wage that an employer may pay their workers. More than 90% of countries in the world have minimum wage laws. Economic conservatives tend to oppose increases in the minimum wage on the grounds that in a free market, the price of labor, like any other commodity, should be set by negotiations between the buyer and seller without undue interference from the state. Economic liberals disagree with this view of labor as a commodity because they believe it dehumanizes laborers by permitting companies to pay employees less than necessary to live a decent life, support a family, etc. Even without legislation, the minimum wage as of 2007 is far below the lowest wage paid by most large companies.
Most countries have a minimum wage. The minimum wage in the United states was most recently raised to $5.85/hr, on July 24, 2007, in a bill signed into law by George W. Bush. At this rate, a person working a 40-hour week for 52 weeks a year at minimum wage earns $12,168.00 for the year.