As of February 2014, there are approximately 155 million civilians in the US workforce [1]. Even with a minimum wage set by the federal government, working-class civilians working at the federal minimum wage of $7.25 struggle with everyday life, including mortgage payments, paying for food and children. President Barack Obama addressed the many individuals and their families working full time at the federal minimum wage in poverty during his 2014 annual State of the Union address. raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10, a $2.85 increase over the current federal minimum wage of $7.25. An increase to $10.10 would represent the second largest annual change in the minimum wage. The amount would fall second to the 1950 wage increase from $0.40 to $0.75. It is also one of the highest minimum wages to date, the highest being $1.60 an hour in 1968, equivalent to approximately $10.71 today [8]. President Obama raised the minimum wage for federal contractors to $10.10, as a precursor to a desirable minimum wage increase that would expand the $10.10 wage for America's civilian workers. The amount would gradually increase to the amount of $10.10 over the years up to 2016 [2]. Should the United States raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 in all states? “No one who works full time should be raising a family in poverty,” says President Obama. Many other people agree that any American who works full time should not be living below the poverty line. An increase in the minimum wage would substantially reduce national poverty levels, lifting approximately 900,000 people out of poverty. If 900,000 people were lifted out of poverty, that would reduce their chance of receiving a raise. release/pdf/empsit.pdf[2] http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/20/opinion/the-clear-benefits-of-a-higher-wage.html?hpw&rref=opinion&_r=0[ 3] http://money.cnn.com/2014/01/14/smallbusiness/minimum-wage-hike/[4] http://www.quinnipiac.edu/institutes-and-centers/polling-institute/national /release-detail?ReleaseID=1993[5] http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/uploads/sotu_minimum_wage.pdf[6] http://cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles /attachments/44995-MinimumWage.pdf[7] http://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/chart.htm[8] http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2014 /01/28/obamas-minimum-wage-hike-put-into-perspective[10] http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/02/18/hill-budget-office-wage-hike-would -jobs-lifted-pay-but-costs/[9] Obama, Barack. United States Capitol. January 28, 2014. State of the Union Address.