Wage rage

Students share issues with state minimum wage

Story by Haley Waddell and Zyon Trotter

January 29, 2025

In Arkansas, employees on minimum wage receive $11.00 per hour, whereas in nearby Texas, the rate stands at the federal minimum of $7.25. This significant contrast underscores the impact of state policies on the earnings of teen workers.

Many stereotypes from older generations claim that the youth doesn’t want to work and just wants money handed to us. This narrative overlooks the reality of modern youth’s hard work that we put into this country and into ourselves as people just trying to get by in life.

First, we’ll start with the fact that the minimum wage has not been federally raised since 2009. In the state of Texas, the minimum wage is $7.25, the same as the federal wage. Yet, in Arkansas, the minimum wage is $11. Younger people looking for jobs often cross the state line in hopes of getting better paychecks. This is a clear sign that in the state of Texas, we as teens are not getting enough for what we do.

Also, the prices of basic groceries like milk and eggs have drastically increased along with the more expensive costs such as houses and college tuition. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the price of eggs is “64.67% higher in 2024 versus 2009 (a $2.18 difference in value).” With younger people preparing to leave home to live on their own or for college, the paychecks that we get do not match the expensive costs of basic needs. Teens are also needing to buy their cars for transportation to and from school or work, yet they can’t afford the monthly payments due to how little we receive weekly or biweekly.

Texas Wage- Zyon Trotter

I am 16 years old, working as a server at a diner making below the Texas state and federal minimum wage at $2.13 an hour due to the fact that tips are included. I also work as an expediter, making $9 an hour which is above minimum wage. This may seem good and reasonable, but our card tips get taxed by the state. The average amount of tips I make a night, which are typically 3-4 hour shifts for four nights a week, are between $20-40 in tips while going home with only a $12-40 check. I do not make much, even if I do work the closing shift for the restaurant, or work over the weekends when it’s usually busy. I am unable to pay to attend school related trips or even regular vacations with family and friends with the money I make now. Recently, I was notified by my supervisor that all of our hours are now being cut short due to them permanently closing an hour early. In less than 4 months, I will be flying out to California for a symposium for one of my clubs, and I don’t have enough money to fall back on because of how little I make. If a change in wages isn’t made as soon as possible, a lot of teens will not be able to take care of themselves and will have to rely on people around them.

Arkansas Wage- Haley Waddell

I am 18 years old and started my job at the Arkansas minimum wage, despite working in Texas. This is because there is a location in Arkansas. Starting wages are set the same so people will work at all locations. I don’t have the problem of a very low wage, but I have still heard people complain about our generation not wanting to work. Many older people say that we just want things handed to us. They don’t seem to realize that things have gotten more expensive and the minimum wage hasn’t gone up in 15 years.

I’m going off to college in less than a year. This wage is not nearly enough to get me through. The tuition alone is way too expensive, but after the cost of living, such as groceries, I can’t get through college without scholarships or loans. I don’t make enough per year to pay for everything I need without needing any help, even though I am now an adult. People often think that teens don’t want to work and just want money, but in reality, we just want to earn enough to prepare us for an independent future.

About the Contributors

Haley Waddell, staff writer

Senior Haley Waddell is a third-year staff member of the Tiger Times Newspaper. She is also a part of the Rosebuds Junior Garden Club, National Honor Society, Texas High Leadership, Texas High Student Council, and AP Ambassadors. When Waddell isn’t occupied by extracurriculars, she is probably working at her part-time job. She hopes to pursue a career in the medical field after high school. Waddell always tries her hardest to get the best grades possible, but doesn’t know for sure which university she will attend. She enjoys going to the movies, hanging out with friends and taking trips to the beach. Waddell is excited for her senior year and has high hopes for the future.

Zyon Trotter, staff writer

Zyon Trotter is a sophomore who did not expect becoming a first-year writer for Tiger Times to be in her deck of cards. She is a member of the Leader In Me Lighthouse Team, usually working behind the scenes at events which perfectly fits her style. Trotter is also over the media for her father’s church all while balancing her job as a server at a local diner. She began her first story about the annual Incentive Day, a campus event her team participates in, which was published the same day it was written. With this, she was given the motivation to create more stories and greater memories both on campus and in her personal life.

Oviya Justin, editor-in-chief

Being one of two default Editors-in-Chief in her third year on the Tiger Times Newspaper was not on senior Oviya Justin’s 2024-25 bingo card. When she’s not saving the city with fellow not-so-masked vigilante Anna Haley, you can find her having an existential crisis about what to do with her life once she graduates. Pray she finds out soon, college application deadlines are in December. Until then, she’ll resume her roles as president of Mu Alpha Theta and Science Club, vice president of T-High ASPIRE, senior lieutenant of the Texas Highsteppers, and a member of NHS, ITS, Quill & Scroll and Latin Club. Justin, despite being in the final stretch of her high school career, has a heavy course load, a decision questioned extensively by those around her and especially by herself. All ground-breaking life choices aside, she plans on pushing through, success rate to be determined. Qualified or not, here she is, attempting to rebuild the dying industry that is newspaper brick by brick, approximately three staff members by her side.