One of the most controversial topics of these decades is our minimum wage in the United States. Recently, over the past few decades, the minimum wage has increased, decreased or remained high. Minimum wage is defined as the lowest amount that employers can legally pay their workers per hour of work. The minimum wage was originally created to alleviate poverty and was established in 1938. Many supporters of the minimum wage claim that it raises living standards and keeps people out of poverty. Those who oppose it tend to believe it increases unemployment and could potentially harm the lower classes. The minimum wage should not be increased to fifteen dollars an hour because this could lead to fewer jobs, higher taxes, poverty, and a high standard of living. Even though the number of occupations where most tasks are repetitive increases, it is cost-effective for an employer to respond to rising labor costs by replacing employees with technology. An employee should not be paid fifteen hours to guard a computer that does its job for you. According to William Waschcer, “Companies are increasingly looking for ways to sell more products with fewer employees. ATMs reduce the need for bank tellers, virtual assistants can answer phones 24 hours a day, and self-service machines reduce the need for tellers” (78). If fewer jobs are to be created, the lower classes will not benefit from these laws anyway. Raising wages will not improve the lives of the lower classes if we do not provide them with employment. If this puts pressure on businesses and forces them to lay off employees, it would actually put more people out of work.