Christie's Tired of Hearing About the Minimum Wage. These People Are Tired of Living on It

Chris Christie says he's "tired of hearing about" minimum wage. 

On Tuesday, the Republican governor of New Jersey said, "I don't think there is a mother or father sitting around a kitchen table tonight in America who [is] saying, 'You know, honey, if my son or daughter could just make a higher minimum wage, all our dreams would be realized,'" the New York Times reports. 

The 3.3 million hourly workers living at or below the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour might disagree. Based on the plethora of protests and rallies over the past year alone, those actually earning the minimum wage don't seem to be tired of talking about it. Minimum wage earners do think there is a benefit to the discussion, and not just for the workers: It's good for everyone, the government and the economy included.

A recent analysis by the Economic Policy Institute found that raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour would save the U.S. government an estimated $7.6 billion every year by moving an estimated 1.7 million workers off public-assistance programs. An increased minimum wage would also boost the GDP by an estimated $22 billion, which could create as many as 85,000 jobs. Moreover, an estimated 27 million Americans would be affected by an increase in the minimum wage. 

So, Gov. Christie, you might be tired of talking about the minimum wage, but these folks are tired of barely scraping by on it. Here are some of those who have been rallying to raise the minimum wage this year, in hopes of sparking the conversations that politicians like Christie are so tired of:

Maybe the minimum wage isn't a topic of conversation at Christie's dinner table, but it's certainly being discussed across the country. He'd be advised to listen up.