During his State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama called for an increase of the minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $9 by 2015 and indexing it for inflation (so that workers actually make more money). This is sure to lead to another long drawn out Congressional debate, but the question that needs to be answered before that is whether raising the minimum wage is actually a good idea. The answer may seem obvious depending on your political leanings, but let’s actually look at the issue objectively.

As for the “pros,” to begin, minimum wage is lower than it used to be. It is not indexed for inflation; as the price of goods goes up, minimum wage has not. In the late 1960s, minimum wage was worth about $10 an hour at the current value of the dollar. This makes it harder for families to make ends meet. Obama’s new proposal would index for inflation. This would allow for minimum wage to “increase” more often; the dollar amount would change, but when inflation is controlled for workers would actually be making the same amount.

Another reason why we should increase the minimum wage again is because we can. The wealth gap in the United States has grown to the point that it is ridiculous. The time has ended where people are impressed by millionaires; now we have moved on to billionaires. While the richer are getting richer, there are still plenty of families in the United States still suffering from the recession. As a nation we have backed each other up; will big business versus the rest of us be the end of that?

To go along with the previous point, some people argue that the market should set the minimum wage, and that when there is a demand for workers they will be paid better. A response to that argument is that the market maybe does not know best. Look at who is running it. Right now our market is set up to benefit those at the top of the labor chain. Maybe the people who actually make minimum wage wouldn’t mind some help from the government.

As for the “cons,” there are some valid arguments as to why now may not be right time to raise the minimum wage. For example, with ObamaCare starting to kick in the extra costs may actually be too much for some businesses to handle. Our economy is still frail, even though it is recoveringj adding that with Obamacare costs (companies have to provide health insurance to full time employees) could be disastrous for businesses.

That being said, economists are split if it actually helps unemployment. Unemployment is about 8 percent. Raising the minimum wage could help those who have jobs already, but it may or may not do much for those who are looking for work. One could argue that our time and resources should go toward an effort that could provide better results.

One last argument is that it is less cost effective than giving poor people money. Increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit for large families and single people costs one-fifth as much to society and still helps poor people. This is based on a study in 2007 from the last time minimum wage was raised (to $7.25). This may not seem like the best option at first glance, but if it helps us keep our debt under control and helps people, maybe it is worth a second glance.

There you have it. Raising the minimum wage sounds like a great idea, but with our frail economy is it the right time to do it? With a lack of conclusions from mixed empirical data it is a hard call to make, but, on the other hand, if we can help our fellow Americans out a little bit (which we can), then shouldn’t we? We will have to wait to see how Congress answers that question. We know we cannot keep going the way that we are. Something has to happen to help those we were hit hard by the recession and we need to find a way to move forward as a nation. This could be part of the solution.

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Hannah Dankbar is a senior in political science and spanish from Johnston, Iowa.