Virginias State Legislature has begun their session! The House proposed a bill for increasing the minimum wage to 15 dollars an hour by January 1st, 2028. Many Virginians are thrilled that this bill is finally getting passed under our new governor, but others are not as excited. Many people are stating that $12.77 an hour is not enough money to make a living. If the average person works an 8-hour day, after tax they will make around $95 dollars a day. The argument is that it not enough money to survive after paying taxes, bills, and other necessities.
With this increase in minimum wage, that can help decrease the poverty, right? That’s what Virginians like Reginald Lee think. “I think that we actually need it, I think it should be higher to be honest with you,” said Reginald Lee. “The fact that its 40 cents, that’s a start, so maybe it will get better over the years. It gives them a chance to start a real savings account and give them a real taste of what the real world is like, because it is kind of hard out here sometimes. So that 40 cent is a lot if you think about it compared to $7.25 when back in the day when we had it, which is $12 now.” Others think that the raise in minimum wage will just cause an increase in everyday needs. Gas prices will increase, as well as grocery prices in order to balance the money that is getting paid to workers. If we only raised minimum wage, we would either have to cut funding for other programs to get that money or raise prices of necessities. Though there are setbacks of the increased minimum wage, the positive impacts it has will make Virginia successful and grow substantially economically.
