Those who advocate for an increase in the minimum wage argue it is necessary as an anti-poverty tool. If only working people earned a higher wage, goes the argument, they would be able to lift themselves out of poverty. Thus, in determining the minimum wage, advocates make calculations that determine what the minimum wage would need to be for someone working full time to spend no more than, say, 30 per cent of their income on shelter. The case for the minimum wage, then, is that it is an effective anti-poverty tool.