Families who are willing to work deserve a decent wage so they can afford to feed their children. Texas needs to join the 21st century and step up for its people.

Cost of living in NY is extremely high and current wage isnt helping families maintain necessities. FOOD,SHELTER,CLOTHES... ETC

Hydration is essential for everybody. It effects mood, energy, school performance, and your over-all health. Students should not be prevented from fullfilling their health needs.

Our state's minimum wage is a mere $7.25. No one can keep a household at that little income. Everyone deserves a chance to live decent and not depend on others to make ends meet. Join me in calling on our government to pass needed legislation to raise our minimum wage to $10.10 or higher.

I make NYS minimum wage and it is NOT enough to raise a family. The cost of living has skyrocketed in NY over the past few years, especially for those who rent homes in areas affected by Hurricane Sandy. Let's follow CT in helping to set a new standard.

Poverty is at an unacceptable level in SC & Soup kitchens are under to many restrictions which means kids & elderly go to bed hungry every day. This shouldn't & won't be as bad if wages are adjusted to make a trip to the grocery store for everyone every week...not just the upper middle class!

Our states current minimum wage is $8.25. That's not enough for anyone to live on. We deserve an economy that works for everyone, not just the wealthy and well-connected. I personally worked 26 years to only get $13.49--26 years. I am disabled from that same factory. Join with me in calling on our state legislature to raise the minimum wage to $12.00

Help reduce poverty and improve the economy.

By raising the minimum wage we give the opportunity to more people to participate in the social happening ,having more money to spend in the local markets and enhancing our culture and local society . States and countries who care about the minimum wage and pay workers a decent pay are healthier more cohesive and stronger as a society . They live longer and happier and are more secure .

Working for $8.73 is absurd, and offers no change of finding decent housing, food, or a reasonable life. It contributes dramatically to the vast inequality in the country; Vermont, though better in ways, is overall no exception. It also has the effect of making wages in the $9-11/hr range seem reasonable, when they are in fact woefully inadequate. A minimum wage increase is not by any means all that is needed to combat the inequality and vast economic disparity of the region and country, but it is helpful, a start, and extremely important nonetheless.

What I'm proposing is for Chicago to implement a Cap-and-Trade emissions policy for carbon within the city limits, thus creating a proven model that can be replicated and spread throughout the United States and world. The details to be worked out by Mayor Emanuel involve MAJOR producers of greenhouse gases having to buy permits to put a certain amount of emissions into the air. Originally a Republican solution (Reagan, and Both Presidents Bush), this policy would financially incentivize voluntary reductions and conversions to cleaner energy sources. And according to Douglas Elmendorf, the director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office in a 10/14/09 USA Today article, the cap and trade impact on employment would be small. The Environmental Protection Agency (http://www.epa.gov/clearskies/captrade.html) and Al Gore's Climate Reality Project, as well as moderate Republicans and Democrats support this as a viable, market based solution to global warming. We therefore want to start in Chicago and go from there. --------------------------------------- Need more details? Here's a short summary from the US EPA: "Cap and trade is an environmental policy tool that delivers results with a mandatory cap on emissions while providing sources flexibility in how they comply. Successful cap and trade programs reward innovation, efficiency, and early action and provide strict environmental accountability without inhibiting economic growth." EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL cap and trade programs IN THE USA include the nationwide Acid Rain Program and the regional NOx Budget Trading Program in the Northeast. Additionally, EPA issued the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) on March 10, 2005, to build on the success of these programs and achieve significant additional emission reductions." In other words, it has been done in the past and we can do it again. City by city, this petition starts in Chicago. Named the 2014 Earth Hour Capital of the US by the World Wildlife Fund, Chicago is second to none and this proposal will prove that WE DO HAVE THE POLITICAL WILL to change the course of what the U.S. Secretary of State called in a February 17th article on CNN.com "... the greatest challenge of our generation, and we can create the future that everybody dreams of". You are being called to rise to the greatest challenge to human existence in the 21st Century. I challenge you to get off the couch, sign and spread this petition to answer the call. Be the change that you want to see and thank you.

Help everyone succeeed by passing a Minimum Wage. Passing a $10.10 Minimum Wage in North Carolina will help close the earnings gap for women. The more income that women and men have the better the economy and for all small business owners. Stress will be ruduced in many households as there will be more flexiblity in managing the household. It will also reduce the level of poverty across the board.