Michigan's new $7.15 minimum wage will not be enough to cover workers' basic needs, according to a recently released report from the Michigan League for Human Services.

The league, a nonprofit advocacy organization for low-income Michigan citizens, released the report stating that even with the wage increase, many will be forced to get help, such as food assistance and housing subsidies.

"Low-wage workers have a really difficult time making ends meet in Michigan right now," said Sharon Parks, the league's vice president for policy. "What it takes to meet basic needs on an ongoing basis exceeds the current minimum wage."

According to the report "Economic Self-Sufficiency in Michigan: A Benchmark for Ensuring Family Well-Being," a single person working full time would need to make $9.08 an hour to cover needs such as housing, health care, transportation, personal items and taxes.

Even then, Parks said, that would be pushing it.

"$9.08 could meet those needs, barely," she said. "Our budget doesn't take into account any savings or credit. It's the bare minimum."

The more people who are in a family, the more that bare minimum goes up, Parks said.

Beyond workers and families, students also are affected by the minimum wage.

Even with help from his father, finance junior Phil Digby said living on minimum wage can be a struggle.

"I find it pretty hard to make ends meet, but I have it a little better than other people," he said, adding that his father helps him with school, phone and car costs. "I've still got to pay my rent, bills and Internet costs on my own.".

For students even partially putting themselves through college, the cost is not always strictly financial, economics Professor Charles Ballard said.

"Some (students) work lots of hours per semester," Ballard said. "It's a rational response but one I wish students wouldn't take so often. That's time I wish was going into their studies that can't."

The financial impact is not always immediate, either, he said.

"In some cases, people take on larger debt and owe more when they get their degree," Ballard said. "In the case of some people, it's a burden - it'll take many years to escape."

Some, however, are not so sure that simply raising the minimum wage to a livable level is the answer.

"The Legislature should quit worrying about providing income, but rather create a market that is more conducive to businesses," said Bryan Ritchie, an associate professor of international relations and expert on Michigan's economic future.

Wages are tied to skills and productivity, Ritchie said, and the Legislature needs to focus on programs that would train the workforce.

"The Legislature is just trying to give money, and not improve skills and productivity," Ritchie said. "Increase the skills and you'll increase productivity."

Scott Watkins, a consultant for the Anderson Economic Group, a Lansing-based economic study group, agreed.

"A minimum wage increase isn't an efficient way to bring earnings up for low-income workers," Watkins said. "A much more effective policy the Legislature should follow would be to provide job training and workplace skills so those currently earning a minimum wage can pursue jobs that are more marketable and higher paying."

That is easier said than done because of the political considerations of legislators, Ritchie said.

"The Legislature looks at what has to be done in terms of education and regulations, but these are hard and complicated, take time and effort and the political payoff is long term," he said.

In contrast, he said the political payoff for raising the minimum wage is high and immediate, so the legislators really don't look to see if it's going to work.

In terms of current, tangible solutions for low-income families and workers, both Parks and Watkins mentioned the Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC, which would provide tax credit on income for those earning below a certain threshold.

Even with the EITC, however, economic inequity is still a problem.

"The EITC helps to alleviate the tax burden, but a graduated tax would be more fair," Parks said.

The tax credit also is fundamentally different from a minimum wage increase, Ballard said.

"The EITC, unlike minimum wage, is actually targeted at low-income families," he said. "Also, EITC increases the number of people working, minimum wage decreases it."