The minimum wage should be raised to $12.50 gradually, by the year 2020

It seems my opponent has dropped the argument about people being smart about when to have kids. This being the case, it still stands then.Now, to move onto what my opponent has stated, I shall rebut or comment on every majort point:Re: Definition of povertyUsually oxfoddictionaries is reliable, but I really question that definition of the word poverty. What is it inferior to? If it is just inferior to anyone, then it could be said that everyone who is poorer than the richest person in the world is in poverty. That's the issue with that definition. it was commonly accepted that someone who can't afford their clothing, nutrition, and housing from their own assets would be considered impoverished.Right, the poverty threshold is what covers that. Someone who earns less than the threshold would be unable to afford those basic needs. I would like to point out that it would be basic clothing, housing, and food. Someone who spends exorbitantly on these items and can't afford it would not be in poverty. Someone who earns more than the threshold would be able to afford those basic items. Re: safety net programsI would prefer that the government did projects that created jobs, rather than just giving free money to people. The old proverb of give a man a fish, feed him for a day, but teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime comes to mind. Is it really helping someone in the long run to make them dependent on the government for their needs? I argue it is not. The government, instead, should be providing means in which a person can independently earn income for necessary items. There should be government programs that teach people how to become independent and earn their own money, rather than just giving hand outs. How can you argue it is better for a person to be dependent on the government rather than the government teaching them to be independent? For this reason I would argue there should not be safety net programs of the type we currently have. The safety net programs should be jobs that the governmetn offers. There's a ton of infrastructure improvement that needs to happen. Why not have the government employ those people who are needy instead? Additionally, I'd argue we need more schools in America, as there is an over-crowding classroom problem[4]. The government could also offer them jobs building these schools we need. There are always projects that the government needs done. Once the government builds these schools, they can offer them jobs as teachers. However, I would say that while they were working building the school, they should be given the education needed to become a teacher. The government could do a lot of things to create more jobs, and this is the alternative to safety net programs and the minimum wage in my opinion. BY allowing companies to pay wages at $7.25 per hour or lower, we are allowing companies to gain more profits and forcing the federal government to pick up the bill.The thing about companies gaining more profit is that it allows them to sell things at a lower price. Companies, to compensate for the minimum wage increase, will sell things at a higher price. So, while some people may be making more money, it will mean they have to pay more for things anyways. For example, this study of businesses in Seattle after the minimum wage increase there saw prices of goods rise substantially[5]. We would likely see the same effect nationwide if we had a minimum wage increase. Does it help the poor any if they are earning more, but have to spend more for basic needs? No.I know this has nothing to do with the federal government, but if you want to help the poor out, how about getting rid of sales taxes and gas taxes? Both are essentially regressive taxes as they affect the poor more than the wealthy. In addition, I would argue we should get rid of the social security tax. Immediately, the poor would have 12% more money because the government wouldn't be taking money out of their pay check. Social security could instead be paid for by the income tax, if we were to increase it on the wealthy. These solutions would be better than raising the minimum wage, because they wouldn't cause prices of things to go up, and getting rid of sales tax and gas tax would mean prices would go down. Additionally, if property tax was gone, that would also lower the rates of rent on apartments, which would help the poor even more. So, why not cut all of these taxes to make things affordable for the poor instead of raising the minimum wage? The government is the reason many things cost so much for the poor.Sources:[4] https://nces.ed.gov...[5] http://www.washington.edu...