The development of the minimum wage as a means of combating poverty in the U.S commenced in 1938 with the passing of the Fair Labor Standards Act. This was an act which advocated for the minimum wage as a tool of fighting poverty and this agitation has continued since then. The fact that minimum wage is not in any way related to the reduction of poverty has been overlooked by the government which has continued to pass this measure as a domestic policy (Burkhauser and Sabia, 262). However, the evidence shows that despite the increase of the minimum wage on different occasions over the years has not done anything significant for the American people since this increase has not normally corresponded with the increasing costs of living in the modern world. The gap between the moneyed and the deprived has also continued to widen as the laws which are put in place do more to favor the rich as opposed to the poor. One of the rationales why the minimum wage has failed to alleviate poverty in the United States is due the fact that most of the jobs which are available for individuals leaving welfare are normally minimum wage jobs (Clain, 205). This circumstance is normally quite difficult for the people who have these jobs because they do not allow these individuals to meet even their most basic needs. Among the greatest victims of these circumstances are single mothers, who, because of the limited time that they are allowed to stay in welfare, are barely ever capable of meeting the needs of their infants with minimum wage jobs. For such mothers as well as other low income individuals, working on a minimum wage is often quite difficult because they not only have to earn money to survive, but they are more often than not forced to work more hours than they normally would to ensure that their needs are met and this occurs just barely (Saget, 237). Working these jobs, especially by low income families in the America has raised the issue of how these individuals can survive without the absolute support of the government.
