Cuyahoga County residents struggling to make ends meet in favor of higher minimum wage

CLEVELAND - Tens of millions of Americans make minimum wage. Lee Ivy is one of them.

Ivy is a husband and father, who works two jobs and is going to school full-time. Ivy and his wife both work for minimum wage.

He is enrolled at the automotive program at the Ohio Technical College to make a better life.

"Things I want for my family. I didn't want to struggle. I didn't want to ask other people to borrow money," Ivy said.

Ivy is not alone; Terry Podralski is studying to be a generator technician while working part time for a little more than minimum wage. Podralski said sometimes it's hard to make ends meet.

"It can be stressful. I get up at 5:30, so I am on time and then I get an hour between here and work," Podralski said.

At Lakeland Community College, about half of their 9,000 students are over the age of 25.

"They are very much career-focused and so they are here for a reason: to get a certificate," said Bill Kraus of Lakeland Community College.

Many workers making minimum wage like the idea of more money in their paycheck.

However, not everyone thinks an increase is a good idea, including Republican House Speaker John Boehner. He said when you raise the price of employment there are fewer jobs.