The proposed plan to increase the minimum wage in the United States to $9 an hour by 2015 and $10.10 an hour by 2016 would have more benefits for the country than detriments.

However, the increase of minimum wage raises concerns for layoffs, with the Congressional Budget Office estimating that 0.03% off the workforce would be laid off. The CBO also estimates the increase would benefit 16.5 million low-income employees, and bring 900,000 people out of poverty.

When weighing the pros and cons of increasing minimum wages, there are far more advantages to increasing the wages.

Angelica Eden, Bellevue