When I moved to Iowa, I was BLOWN AWAY by the low cost of living. You could get a decent apartment here for $400, many with utilities included, compared to average apartments in NY around $1,200 and MUCH smaller. Even so, times have changed drastically for the working human. According to The Gazette, nearly 19% of Iowans do not earn a living wage. That's 114,000 Iowan families struggling to meet basic needs with food, health care, child care, and transportation, and of those 44,000 are single parent families.

Regardless of who you support politically, this has become a larger and larger issue every year. This is people who are ready and willing to work, put in the time and still coming up short. This is why a minimum wage increase would be a TERRIFIC start to put a dent in this. Remember these results are from people who already have jobs, it's up to employers to help make up for this gap in payment. But would raising the minimum wage have an impact on our economy? Would increasing wages already higher than this, make a difference in the lives of those 114,000 families? Let us know your thoughts. Read more below.

For an increased minimum wage: Robert Reich.

Against an increased minimum wage: Mike Patton.

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