I'm not asking for any handouts or even for the minimum wage to be raised, but I'm just here to put something into perspective about the minimum wage situation. I am an assistant manager at a retailer in the Charlotte area of North Carolina. I am 20, I work full time and pay to go to a local community college full time and I live with my parents. I make $10/hour(the min wage is $7.25 here) and I bust my ass at work every day, I'm never late and I always do my job to the best of my ability but I'll be lucky to get a $1 raise this summer. I work about 40 hrs/week and every 2 weeks after my benefits and taxes are taken out of my pay I have about a $580 paycheck. Now let's just say I wasn't in college and I was living on my own. I would have an income of about $1200/month(after my taxes and benefits). I would need at least $750 for rent if I were on my own. My car payment is $220/month but let's just round it up to $300 to factor in insurance. That leaves me with only $150 for gas, food, my phone, and any other necessities. That is not livable. I would not be able to sustain myself working 40hrs/week and making more than the minimum wage. It be would pretty hard to have money for things I need like toiletries, clothes, and any other kind of personal expenses. I would pray that I never got sick or had to go to a doctor for any reason. Yes I know that if I had a "real job" I wouldn't have to work so much about money. But that's why I'm in college and why I'm glad to be able to stay with my parents while I'm doing that. But anyway, if I was on my own, I just don't know how it would be possible.