"No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country...by living wages I mean more than the bare subsistence level. I mean the wages of a decent living."
~ Franklin D. Roosevelt
Filling popular news slots over the past year has been the topic of minimum wage. ABC, CBS, New York Times and Huffington Post have all reported on the recent campaigns and legislation to try and raise minimum wage. The campaign has sparked controversy that has rocked the country to the core. While some believe raising minimum wage would put a large hole into our economy, I, and many other American's support the raise, in favor of a decent living.
If we take a trip back in time to a century ago, workers spent a majority of their time working in sweatshops for a handful of pennies a week without protection of being exploited. Union workers attempted at this time to create a minimum wage that employers would be held to, though it was ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court, for it "restricted workers right to set the price for his own labor." (Source)
In response to the Great Depression, in 1936 Franklin D. Roosevelt made a promise to protect workers during his re-election speech, and held true to his word. In 1938 Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act, which introduced regulations, banned child labor, created protection from exploitation and most importantly, created a minimum wage of 25 cents an hour for workers. In his speech, Roosevelt claimed he wanted the minimum wage to offer "a minimum standard of living necessary for health, efficiency and general well being." (Source)
Since then, minimum wage had been raised almost yearly, until 1997 when President Bill Clinton introduced a legislation, allowing states to choose their own minimum wage rates. Since then, labor activists have been fighting to help American's earn a living wage.
If we take a look at the year 1938, the minimum wage was just $1.60 an hour. Today, that little amount of wage wouldn't even buy American's a meal from a fast food restaurant on their lunch break, However, during that time period, $1.60 an hour equates to $10.90 an hour in 2015 with inflation added in. Yet, those who work minimum wage jobs are only earning roughly $7.25 an hour.
When the demographics of minimum wage are presented, it boils down to an estimated 53 million American's who make less than $15.00 at their jobs. 50 percent of that is made up of African American's and 60 percent are Latino. At least 15 percent of the 53 million who make less than a living wage are over the age of 35.
While most against the minimum wage raise argue that the majority of minimum wage workers are teenagers, let's take a look at a few different scenarios.
A college student works forty hours a week making minimum wage of $7.25 an hour while taking four classes at a University. The student makes (before taxes) $290 a week. At a job that pays bi-weekly, the student would make (before taxes) $1,160 a month, the student is expected to live off these wages. But, it's the beginning of the semester, which means new textbooks are needed.
Lets use my text books from this semester as an example:
Kleppner's Advertising Procedure, 18th edition
by W. Ronald Lane, Karen Whitehall King and Tom Reichert
Brand new from Amazon, the book costs $129.99
Ritmos Beginning Spanish Language and Culture, 1st edition
by Lee Forester and David Antoniuk
Brand new from the publisher, the book costs $149.95
Public Relations Writing, Form and Style
by Doug Newsom and Jim Haynes
Brand new from Amazon, the book costs $157.76
Television and American Culture
by Jason Mittel
Brand new from Amazon, the book costs $30.70
All of these prices exclude shipping and tax, but roughly the student would pay $468.40 in one semester for books, leaving $691.60 left over for the rest of the month. Lets calculate how much the student would pay for an off campus apartment, as she is no longer allowed to stay in the dorms. In Memphis, Tennessee the average cost of a one bedroom apartment is $690. Leaving the student with no money for food, utilities, electricity, insurance or gas for the car.
Let's look at another scenario,
A 35 year old single father of two children works 60 hours a week making minimum wage. Before taxes, the man makes $435 a week, and $870 a month. The man lives in Tuscon, Arizona. The average rent for a two bedroom apartment in Tuscon, Arizona is $818 a month. (Source) This leaves the man $52 a month to feed his children, pay for a car and gasoline, insurance, utilities, electricity and water. Impossible, isn't it?
Now that we've gone over both ends of the spectrum, let's look at some of the reason's why many are not supportive of the minimum wage change.
1. "Minimum skills = minimum wage"
There are two problems with this statement, the first being that not every minimum wage worker has only minimum skill. I graduated high school with a 3.4 GPA and was salutatorian of my class, I spent the last year of my life working in a town where jobs are hard to come by at a local Burger King making $8.05 an hour. Minimum wage jobs are not advertised only for the mentally impaired or the uneducated. Minimum wage jobs are for those trying to make a living.
The second problem lies in the misjudgment of many privileged American's who say higher skill equals higher pay. I am in no way, shape or form disagreeing with that statement. There's a reason doctors and lawyers make more than average wages. However, what about the teen who couldn't afford or didn't get the chance to go to college immediately after high school? We all know student loans exists, however, how is a single mother working a minimum wage job going to pay for books, let alone rent, diapers, etc? Where there is a will, there is a way, however that way is not always as possible as the non-supporters seem to think.
2. "If you can't support a family on minimum wage, don't have kids."
I am not fully disagreeing with this statement. However, once again, I'm sure this statement came from a privileged American. How is woman working minimum wage with minimum health insurance supposed to pay her bills and birth control at a high price? Surely, Planned Parenthood was an option, until they had their funding taken away. Other preventative care exists because the word accident exists in the American language for a reason. Because, accidents happen. Sexual intercourse should not be only available to the privileged, nor should pregnancy be portrayed as a negative punishment. While the poor certainly could use a dose of free birth control, the judgmental could use a dose of compassion and understanding, as well.
3. "Our service members don't even make more than $15.00 an hour!"
While this statement is true, and I cannot disagree with it at all, there is one problem. Often, the American's who stand up to say this, do not stand up for better pay for the troops each year when the budget is made and the military pay is put on hold. Even worse, is the amount of American's who no longer support the military or war, but still use this excuse. Our country cannot change unless American's stand up to fight for a change. Many American's should make more money in their career's, but why should minimum wage workers be left out of that statement? (In case you answer this by saying "minimum wage jobs are not careers, refer to the second half of #1)
If change does not take place, we are one day going to end up becoming the workers making money that is comparable to pennies a week if change does not take place. Until then, I support the raise of minimum wage to help the 53 million American's struggling yearly to make a decent living.
Cartoon made by Nick Anderson, 12/10/13
Houston Chronicle
Sources:
http://www.raisetheminimumwage.com/facts/entry/amount-with-inflation/
http://www.minimum-wage.org/history.asp
http://www.sanders.senate.gov/download/15-minimum-wage-fact-sheet?inline=file
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