The Minimum Wage DebateIntroduction:The Clinton administration indicated in 1993 that it intended to seek an increase in the federal minimum wage. Liberal politicians applauded the new president, recognizing that a raise was expected and deserved. However, their conservative counterparts deplored this policy proposal, fearing that an increase in the minimum wage would further disrupt the economic recovery underway at the time. Liberals and conservatives alike have begun to mobilize their statistical muscle to support long-standing claims about the positive and negative consequences of raising the minimum wage. Since then, political rhetoric has often dominated the minimum wage debate. (Mckenzie, 10, 1994)Minimum wage is a controversial issue because it is debated among a wide and eclectic audience. The minimum wage is at the heart of economists' concerns; he seeks to find the link with the loss of employment. Countries around the world, including all OECC members, maintain minimum wage laws. It is for this reason that it is of obvious importance for policy makers. Since those who tend to earn minimum wage are disproportionately from low-income families and minorities, the minimum wage has also attracted the attention of social activists. The subject is perhaps most interesting to the average American. At some point in our lives, almost everyone has received minimum wage. For this reason, it is the subject of popular debate at dinner, in restaurants, and in the typical American living room. The American people should support raising the federal minimum wage because empirical evidence proves that it does not lead to job loss. Americans know that raising the minimum wage is a way to make work pay. For many American workers, an increase in the minimum wage will mean the difference between living in poverty or not. Additionally, a higher minimum wage, a floor that ensures workers get fair compensation for their efforts, provides a foothold in the middle class for many more families who otherwise would not earn a living like a class average. America in the 1990s is a country of growing disparities, where the rich are advancing while the working class is falling behind. In this economic phenomenon, the middle class is disappearing. One of our main defenses in ensuring that members of the working class receive a fair wage is legislation that provides for it. While many minimum wage opponents cite labor supply and demand concerns about a legal wage, we need to look at the facts rather than just theory..