The minimum wage rate in the state of North Carolina should be increased from the current seven dollars and 25 cents per hour to nine dollars per hour.  

In a state where unemployment was 9.2 percent as of December 2012, it is imperative that the federal government gives unemployed citizens a good reason to seek work in the state of N.C.

It is sad to say, but if an unemployed person grows accustomed to the benefits of federal assistance, they are inclined to become secure and content with the fact that they are not working and will choose to stay unemployed.

In a capitalistic society, the almighty dollar is the only thing that talks.

A minimum wage increase would certainly communicate a good reason to work.

Increasing minimum wage would do much good in the eyes of workers who currently struggle to maintain a household with dependents while receiving the state minimum.  

In the midst of the nation’s current economic situation, it is a challenge to support a household while earning a few dollars per hour.

Such a challenge forces those in need to labor extensive hours per week to cover their expenses.

It must be a dreadful feeling for a parent to have slaved at the job all week, but in the end, the money just is not enough.   

After filling gas tank after gas tank to get to work long enough without reaping any feasible financial benefits, many of these workers may feel as if they are paying to go to work.   

The hard working college student who genuinely needs that extra few dollars to pay for books, gas up the car, or keep food in the refrigerator would certainly benefit from the extra one dollar and seventy five cents per hour.    

It is time that we as college students, as the future of this great nation, survive in dormitories and off-campus housing with more to eat than Ramen Noodles, Hot Pocket and Capri Suns that we ration over the course of weeks.  

Simply put, working while trying to maintain academic responsibilities is virtually impossible. So, when we make the impossible happen, we should be afforded a fair share of the wealth.

Raising N.C.’s minimum wage would also help nullify problems encouraged by tax dollars expended for federal assistance.  

In laymen’s terms, if citizens in a given community make more money, the need for the taxes that create financial assistance are no longer necessary.  

If N.C.’s minimum wage was changed to nine dollars per hour, there would be no need to send taxpayers’ dollars back to the bottom.

The notion of paying less money on taxes for social programs actually plays directly into the hands of conservatives.  

The prospect of working for more than current minimum wages will present an incentive for people who do not work to get up and get a job.  

Nine dollars per hour does not sound bad at all.  

Working for a dollar twenty five more than what people currently work for would make it seem as if he or she was working instead of being worked.  

The bottom line is, some people choose to remain unemployed. Their earnings were so low that they felt no since of appreciation from their employers.

Overall, a minimum wage set at nine dollars presents an incentive for the unemployed to work, and a way to spend less on taxes for social programs.  

No American should work full-time and not be afforded the luxury of living a financially sufficient lifestyle.  

-Email him at kdhoyle @aggies.ncat.edu and follow The A&T Register on Twitter @TheATRegister

• KALYN HOYLE, Opinions Editor