President Franklin Roosevelt approved the federal minimum wage law in 1938, when the Great Depression was at its insolvent height. Because at that time the economy was at an all-time low, the sole purpose of its adoption was to keep the majority of Americans out of poverty and increase consumer demand. After the 1960s, the minimum wage saw a very gradual increase to the point where it is now dormant. In this time of recession, the minimum wage has brought no benefit to those who work for such limited wages. In fact, it affected a number of factors rather than preventing the overall population from becoming poorer. Although opponents claim that an increase in the minimum wage will hurt employment, an increase is key to boosting the economy and will further reduce those who cross the poverty line, known as the "working poor." Overall, increasing salaries will be beneficial overall. Raising workers' pay to minimum wage will be the right way to achieve effective results, but some people oppose an increase. Neal Asbury, an American entrepreneur, writes “Raising the minimum wage brings minimum benefits” to express how an increase in wages will increase unemployment levels. The author presents a 1992 survey of economists' beliefs in favor of raising the minimum wage, 72 percent of whom said it would hurt unemployment levels (Asbury). According to this statement, more than half of economists say that if an increase in the minimum wage were to occur, unemployment would increase in the country. Businesses will be inclined to lay off or hire fewer workers due to higher costs, driving low-skilled workers into unemployment. A salary increase will bring...... middle of paper ......the assurance of being able to count on public assistance; therefore, allowing them to purchase goods that they could not purchase before. The success of the education wage increase goes a long way in explaining why it is ideal for the country. Works Cited Asbury, Neal. “Increasing the minimum wage means minimum benefits. » Money News. Newsmax Media, Inc., March 14, 2013. Web. November 19, 2013. Martin, Emily and Arjun Sethi. "Equal Pay Day: Raising the minimum wage will help women --- and the economy." Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, April 9, 2013. n.pag. Academic research completed. Internet. October 21, 2013. Nader, Ralph. “America’s miserable minimum wage needs an upgrade.” The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, April 15, 2013. Web. October 21, 2013. Wicks-Lim, Jeannette. “The working poor”. New Labor Forum (Murphy Institute). 21.3 (2012): 17-25. Academic research completed. Internet. October 18. 2013.