Poverty can run the gamut from extreme lack of basic necessities to no material comforts. (309). The main goal of the minimum wage law is to enable people to rise out of poverty and be able to afford a decent lifestyle within their community. It is considered common sense that if the working poor received a pay raise, the poverty rate would decrease. Unfortunately, this claim turned out to be false. Research has found that “poverty and the minimum wage do not interact or influence each other in any way.” (310) and the reason for this is very simple, but is not often taken into consideration by the government. Studies have shown that “only 51% of households in the lowest income categories had employed members at the time of the survey.”(312) These findings conclude that even an increase in the minimum wage would not affect the poverty rate. and, in fact, it would increase it through higher inflation and lower employment, as will be shown in the following paragraphs. In fact, “among the poor, only 11.4% work full time, all year round”. (Spriggs, 51) An increase in the minimum wage would actually hurt a number of families. Some families rely not only on their own paycheck, but also on aid provided through the public assistance program, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, for additional funds for food, child care and medical expenses. For those who rely on minimum wage positions in the workforce, child care costs can reach up to a third of their income, thus requiring additional help. An increase in the minimum wage would bring these families above the income level needed to receive extra help, even though they might be only $200 a month above this limit. The difference between that $200 and the amount they now need to pay for food, child care and medical care could be as much as