are, you’ve probably heard about some of the low-wage workers who are demanding an increase in pay. Across the country, workers in fast food restaurants, retail stores and other establishments have been appealing to the federal government to raise the minimum wage. To most of us, raising the minimum wage makes sense — if you’ve worked at a low-paying job for even a short period of time you know just how difficult it is to live on $7.25 an hour.
In the past, it was much easier to live on minimum wage than it is now. In the 1960s one full-time minimum wage job could just keep a family of four afloat — it would leave them right around the poverty line. Just two decades later in the 1980s, though, a minimum-wage job would put the same family far below the poverty line — around 40% under, in fact. In 2013, it’s almost impossible to support yourself on minimum wage, let alone provide for your spouse and family. When you’re barely making ends meet, how can you think about the future? When can you find time to go back the school or apply for military scholarships to advance your prospects? There are lots of programs for degrees for veterans to check out.
Today, poverty in United States is at the highest it’s been in the past two decades. There are more working-age poor in this country than there have been since 1967. When taking this into account, it’s not very surprising that workers are campaigning for higher wages. Here are some important developments in their fight for a more livable wage.
$15 an Hour for Fast Food Workers
For some time now, workers in the fast food industry have been demanding their pay be increased to $15 an hour. Employees argue that while they perform an essential service — we all have to eat, don’t we? — they are not fairly compensated for their work. Moreover, it is not possible to support oneself on minimum wage in affluent urban areas like New York and Chicago. Workers in these cities have been particularly vocal about their push for a pay increase.
Employees in other industries have followed suit. Wal-Mart workers across the country have staged protests and strikes. They too argue the current minimum wage just isn’t livable. Wal-Mart has faced a lot of criticism for refusing to pay its employees more money. Wal-Mart’s CEO takes home millions of dollars per year, which seems ludicrous given many of the company’s employees make so little. One Wal-Mart in Ohio even held a Thanksgiving food drive for its employees. If the company acknowledges its workers can’t afford Thanksgiving dinner, why doesn’t it pay them more? Many have cited the food drive as further evidence that Wal-Mart wages just aren’t livable.
A More Competitive Job Market?
Those against raising the minimum wage say that higher wages would mean fewer jobs. They say if forced to increase their wages, many companies just couldn’t afford to employ as many workers. However, the fact that CEOs of companies like Wal-Mart make so much makes this logic questionable. It seem like they definitely could afford to allocate more money to their “bottom feeders.”
In reality, economists are split on whether or not an increased minimum wage would make it more difficult for workers to find jobs. In fact, some research suggests higher minimum wage would reduce poverty. Arindrajit Dube, a researcher from the University of Massachusetts, believes increasing the minimum wage 10% would increase the income of poor citizens by 2 to 3% across the board.
Some Democrats in the Senate want to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour in the next three years. That’s not the $15 an hour fast food workers want, but it’s certainly better than what they’re making now. Whether or not the minimum wage goes up, we as a country need to think long and hard about how we can reduce the divide between the rich and the poor. When almost 1 in 4 children live in poverty, you can’t deny that minimum wage is a relevant and timely issue in our country. We have a responsibility to improve the living conditions and prospects of all of our citizens.