Minimum wage workers in the Bay State will soon see a little bit more money in their paychecks.

Governor Deval Patrick signed a bill into law Thursday that would raise the hourly rate to the highest in the U.S., but the debate rages on over whether raising the hourly pay for the state's lowest paid workers is the right move.
 
My Bui of Boston, who makes less than $11 an hour, said, "Everyone thinks having a higher minimum wage would help them, but it's going to destroy the economy."
 
Joe Graham of Roslindale, who has worked minimum wage jobs in the past, said, "I think raising the minimum wage will only help the economy in the long term because it will put money back into the economy."
 
Only time will tell if an $11 minimum wage will have a positive or adverse affect on the state and its workers, and and even people currently making $8 an hour or just above it have mixed views on the increase.
 
James Hauke of Lexington, who works a minimum wage retail job, said, "I mean I put clothes away, $8 an hour seems more than fair."
 
But Tiago Medeiros, who makes $8.50 an hour, said, "I work two jobs with minimum wage and I can't live off anything."
 
Brandon Crockett of Boston, who's making a little above the minimum wage, said, "I'm living from paycheck to paycheck and when I want to maybe go on vacation or buy some new clothes, it's on credit, so it's tough."
 
While some in the private sector, such as Brandon Crockett, aren't completely against raising the minimum wage, he thinks it levels the playing field in a way that is unfair to professionals who have spent a lot of money earning a degree.
 
"So I'm currently in all that student loan debt and basically making the same amount with my entry level position, so it's tough," Crockett said.
 
The law the governor signed will increase the minimum wage by a dollar each year over the next three years starting on Jan. 1, 2015.

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