Assuming someone works 40 hours a week at the current federal minimum wage, which is $7.25, the take home pay after taxes for someone with no dependents is [b]$13,926[/b] a year. How people pay for food, rent, utilities, a phone (yes you twats a phone is a necessity in the 21st century) and other expenses is beyond me. If it is raised to $9.00 per hour, yearly salary in the same above conditions is [b]$17,133[/b]. For someone living on that threshold, that's going to make a huge difference. So in the end, a raise in the minimum wage is something that we've been needing for quite some time now.