I am writing in response to the spectacularly uninformed letter of Feb. 26, "Minimum wage hike only rewards failure." It attests that "If you need a minimum wage job after 25, it is likely because of bad choices and/or work habits…you screwed up, dropped out of school…are just too lazy to improve yourself."

The writer would do well to research the topic before making such sweeping, inaccurate statements. According to a report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, published in April 2012, in 2011 the average age of low-wage workers was 34.9, and workers aged 25-64 made up 60 percent of the low-wage workforce. Furthermore, roughly 80 percent of low-wage workers had at least a high school education - 33 percent have some college education, and 10 percent have a four-year college degree or more. These numbers hardly indicate a workforce that is too lazy to improve itself.

I myself am a low-wage worker at a part-time job and make less than $10 an hour. I have a bachelor's degree from the University of Connecticut, where I graduated cum laude and a semester early. Do I not deserve a living wage, simply because, in this difficult economy, I am struggling to find a full-time job?