The minimum wage is a frequent topic of political debate. Advocates of the
minimum wage view the policy as one way to raise the income of the working
poor. They correctly point out that workers who earn the minimum wage can
afford only a meager standard of living. In 1999, for instance, when the minimum
wage was $5.15 per hour, two adults working 40 hours a week for every
week of the year at minimum-wage jobs had a total annual income of only
$21,424, which was less than half of the median family income. Many advocates
of the minimum wage admit that it has some adverse effects, including unemployment,
but they believe that these effects are small and that, all things considered,
a higher minimum wage makes the poor better off.