A family of four is on government welfare, has no health or auto insurance, and lives paycheck to paycheck because both parents earn minimum wage. Parents can't support a family because they barely make enough money to pay the bills. According to Driscoll, there is evidence that a “family of three all earning minimum wage is still below the poverty line.” President Obama has proposed raising the minimum wage to $9, but no action has been taken on his behalf. Congress must therefore increase the minimum wage in order to contribute to the general well-being of the population. The minimum wage is the minimum amount an employer can pay its workers per hour. For example, the minimum wage in Virginia is $7.25 per hour. Ford points out in his article on the minimum wage increase: "The minimum wage rose to $5.85 in the summer of 2007 and to $6.55 in the summer of 2008, with plans for a final value of $7 .25 dollars in the summer of 2009. » However, different states have different minimum wages. For example, Washington has the highest minimum wage at $9.19 per hour, and Georgia has the lowest at $5.15 per hour. But according to the National Employment Wage Project, "if the United States had kept pace with inflation over the past 40 years, the minimum wage would be $10.74 an hour." That's $3.49 more than the current minimum wage, which would be $7,259.20 more per year (before taxes). By raising the minimum wage, it would stimulate the economy in several ways. This “would increase the purchasing power of many workers whose wages would also increase” according to the article Raising the Minimum Wage: A Critical Analysis Guide. Another way this would help the economy is to reduce the number of people who would need government welfare... middle of document......October 2013. .Jacobs, WEHoagland, Steve. “Counterpoint: Minimum wages are unjustified economic interference. » Points of view: Raise the minimum wage (2013): 2. Reference center for points of view. Internet. November 8, 2013. Jacobs, WEHoagland, Steve. “Counterpoint: Minimum wages are unjustified economic interference. » Points of view: Raise the minimum wage (2013): 2. Reference center for points of view. Internet. November 8, 2013. “Raising the minimum wage: a critical analysis guide.” Points of view: Raise the minimum wage (2013): 4.Reference center for points of view. Internet. October 28, 2013. “Rebuilding an economy that works for us all. " Facts. NELP, nd Web. November 11, 2013. Sperling, Gene and Alan Krueger. “The White House Blog.” Raising the minimum wage is good for the economy. The White House, July 24, 2013. Web. October 28. 2013.