Last week, President Obama proposed a minimum wage increase from $7.25 to $9, then indexing it to inflation. And, of course, the GOP is on the defense, arguing that an increase in minimum wage could lead to an increase in unemployment.
If the cost of living is increasing, shouldn’t the minimum wage?
How can we begin to expect people to live off $58 dollars per day before taxes when a weekly bus pass on R.T.A cost $13, a full tank of gas for a 4 cylinder engine is approximately $37.80, and bread average over $2 a loaf if you buy brand name. And, we haven’t mentioned anything about the price of shelter, clothing, or child care.
People need a living, workable wage in order to survive while the current rate just doesn’t cut it. It’s barely enough to live off, let alone save or put away for an emergency.
God forbid an emergency occurs…
Last week, President Obama proposed a minimum wage increase from $7.25 to $9, then indexing it to inflation. And, of course, the GOP is on the defense, arguing that an increase in minimum wage could lead to an increase in unemployment.
The argument… employers will freeze hiring or even reduce current staff to meet payroll demands if the rate is increased, especially within a weak economy.
But, made just maybe, the economy is weak because the people don’t have extra money to spend. Who’s going to dinner at a restaurant or shopping at the mall when ends aren’t coming close to meeting?
According to the Labor Department, minimum wage – adjusted for inflation – was around $10 an hour in current dollars in the late 1960s and even in the 1980s was above where it is today.
Seriously? How is it that an individual working a low wage job 40 years ago could pay rent, buy food, send their child to Catholic school, and even buy a new pair of shoes from the downtown department store but is unable to fill up their refrigerator today?
It’s truly a shame when employers are more concerned about increasing profit margins than their employees having enough money to even make it back to the office or plant the next day. It is truly a shame when working people are homeless and hungry.
