Nowadays, the price of everything is rising. Rent and mortgages are climbing. Food prices are reaching records. School tuitions are increasing. It's getting to the point at which people are not only living from paycheck to paycheck, but also ready to breathe out of plastic straws as their exhaustion causes them to sink a little deeper in the water. Therefore, in order to keep up with the inflation of purchasing products and other everyday needs, why doesn't the government institute a higher minimum wage? How about a national standard of at least twelve dollars an hour?