>>If you have a full time job you should be able to afford the essentials to live. Luxury items are not essentials and $7.25 does not buy the essentials. Heck over here that doesn't even pay rent!!!. At $7.25hr, 40 hours a week - you're at what - $1160 bucks a month? Figure in taxes now you're at around $800 bucks a month The CHEAPEST studio apartment here (talking 320 square feet - one room) its $1400 a month. So now you're already $500 in the hole, and you still don't have food,electricity, water, transportation, any heath care - you have nothing. But hey you can work that part time job and pay for your college too? I'm sorry Marcia but anyone who believes that is out of touch with the current reality of today's world in the USA.
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>>You failed to mention that Hawaii is the second most expensive state to live in - right behind Washington DC. I know that if Andy and I wanted to build our house on a golf course in Hawaii there is no way that we could afford to do so. Life is all about choices. Arkansas, however, is the second least expensive state to live in - Mississippi is the cheapest place to live. That is why we can afford to build a new home on a golf course. If you choose to live in the most expensive place in the country and try to do so on $7.25 an hour, that is not a very intelligent choice.
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>So maybe, at a minimum, minimum wage ought to be pegged to local cost of living?
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>Tamar

A lot of states have a higher minimum wage, here it's actually $8.50 - but even so none of these are high enough to live off of - and some states like Wyoming and Georgia it's only $5.15 an hour. Employees covered under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act are subject to the federal minimum wage of $7.25, but those not covered under the FLSA may be paid the state minimum wage of $5.15. Meanwhile you have members of the GOP who think the minimum wage is to high or in some cases that it should be abolished all together. Another brilliant concept brought to you by the same folks who think trickle-down economics is a good idea.

http://www.ncsl.org/research/labor-and-employment/state-minimum-wage-chart.aspx