Editor, Daily Nexus,

I am writing in response to Courtney Stevens’ column (“Liberty Belle: Minimum Wage Raise Not a Blessing,” Daily Nexus, Feb. 6). This column was based largely on fallacies and assumptions. The fact of the matter is that the minimum wage has not changed in over ten years.

In 1996-97, $5.15 meant a lot more then than it does today. Calculating it out, a full-time worker, who does not take a single break or day off, in a full year would make less than $10,000 a year. Imagine living off $10,000 a year – housing alone costs more than that.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, an average family of three must make around $16-17,000 a year to even meet the poverty line. And as each year passes without a change in the minimum wage – and as inflation increases – more and more families become unable to afford the bare necessities of living. The minimum wage law is much more complicated than the Econ 1 basics of supply and demand. As for small businesses, they have been considered. Hence, the tax cut for small businesses attached to this bill. Really, the arguments made in the Stevens column are slippery-slope fallacies. Furthermore, I believe that her column lost its legitimacy when it opened up with an attack on a political party rather than on the issue. Raising the minimum wage is an attempt to combat the rise in poverty that is plaguing our nation. It may not solve the issue, but it will definitely help. What it means is that some people think more about the people it will help than about the $0.30 more they will have to pay for their Starbucks.