Damian Washington makes the plea:

Pay America's Workers A Livable Wage!
(1) Many minimum wage earners are adults who are major breadwinners for their families; 
(2) had the minimum wage fifty years ago merely kept up with inflation it would be over $15 today; 
(3) when these giant corporations don’t pay living wages the rest of us pay Medicaid and food stamps to help these families stay out of poverty; 
(4) a $15 living wage puts more money into the pockets of people who will spend it, thereby creating more jobs, not fewer.

Not only does he prove he has rapping chops, but he truly shows he IS a gentleman and scholar too!

The United States Department of Labor has some mythbusters provided on their website here are some of the highlights:

Myth: Raising the minimum wage will only benefit teens.

Not true: The typical minimum wage worker is not a high-school student earning weekend pocket money. In fact, 88 percent of those who would benefit from a federal minimum wage increase are age 20 or older, and 55 percent are women.

Myth: Increasing the minimum wage will cause people to lose their jobs.

Not true: A review of 64 studies on minimum wage increases found no discernable effect on employment. Additionally, more than 600 economists, seven of them Nobel Prize winners in economics, have signed onto a letter in support of raising the minimum wage to $10.10 by 2016.

Myth: Restaurant servers don't need to be paid the minimum wage since they receive tips.

Not true: An employer can pay a tipped employee as little as $2.13 per hour in direct wages, but only if that amount plus tips equal at least the federal minimum wage and the worker retains all tips and customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips. Often, an employee's tips combined with the employer's direct wages of at least $2.13 an hour do not equal the federal minimum hourly wage. When that occurs, the employer must make up the difference. Some states have minimum wage laws specific to tipped employees. When an employee is subject to both the federal and state wage laws, he or she is entitled to the provisions of each law which provides the greater benefits.

The information provided on their website is excellent regarding this issue so I highly recommend you check it out!

 According to the National Conference of State Legislatures 38 states introduced minimum wage bills during the 2014 session. 

• Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts,Michigan, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and D.C. have enacted increases during the 2014 session.

 Economists agree that raising the minimum wage reduces poverty. Want to see which 600 Economists Signed a Letter in Support of $10.10 Minimum Wage? Check it out here: Economist Statement on the Federal Minimum Wage