“Paying your employees well is not only the right thing to do, it's also good business” -Jim Sinegal, CEO of Costco. Many American employees, however, are not paid well, as the annual income of a full-time employee working year-round is less than $16,000 (about $15,080) under the current federal minimum wage (Reconstruction). To retrospectively evaluate how outdated the federal minimum wage is, consider that the 1956 minimum wage was exactly $7.93 in 2009 (Henderson). How progressive is it that our nation's workers are paid less today than workers in the 1950s? The federal minimum wage should be raised to help lift families out of poverty, to ensure the commitment and loyalty of workers, and to give people more money to put back into the economy. nail salon workers) earn $2.13 an hour on the current federal minimum wage (Reconstruction). These people rely almost entirely on the casual and unpredictable decency of strangers who tip them. Before you complain about lazy couch potatoes who don't want to work and are pampered by government assistance, take a look at the 2008 Conference of Mayors survey on hunger and homelessness, which states that 42% of people requiring food assistance emergency rooms were occupied (Henderson). Also keep in mind the thousands of single mothers struggling to raise their children in our country and the sexist and misogynistic society we live in, which leads to ever-present wage gaps between women and men and the devaluation of traditionally female-dominated jobs. As previously stated, a full-time employee who works year-round will barely make more than $15,000 a year, but… mid-paper… people of all social classes could profit from this prospect. Thousands of families would be lifted above the poverty line and businesses would see an increase in productivity and worker loyalty, all helping to revive the economy; It's a win-win for everyone. The federal minimum wage should be increased in a way that improves the well-being of the entire country. Works Cited “Fair pay for women requires raising the minimum wage and flipping the minimum wage.” National Center for Women's Rights. Np, nd Web. 07 February 2014. Henderson, David R. “Raising the Minimum Wage Will Reduce Poverty.” Opposing points of view. Np, nd Web. February 5, 2014."Rebuilding an economy that works for all of us." Facts. Np, nd Web. 06 February. 2014. .