$15.00 An Hour Is NOT Too High For The Minimum Wage

(These images are from Think Progress.)

It has become obvious that the minimum wage in the United States is not a livable wage. In fact, the buying power of the current minimum wage is more than 30% lower than the buying power of the minimum wage in the late 1960's. The American people know this, and poll after poll has shown a significant majority of people believe the minimum wage must be raised. The only question for most Americans is how much should it be raised.

Republicans are out-of-step with most Americans. They don't think the minimum wage should be raised from its current level of $7.25 an hour (or $15,080 a year) -- and many of them would like to abolish the minimum wage, and let employers pay even less that $7.25 an hour! They claim that businesses couldn't afford to pay more, and would have to lay off workers.

That is an absurd claim. Study after study has shown that raising the minimum wage does not cause layoffs. A higher minimum wage would actually help businesses. It would put all businesses on an equal footing with labor costs -- and it would increase sales (and profits) because most Americans would have more money to spend. Raising the minimum wage would be good for both workers and businesses -- and it would stimulate the faltering economy, creating more jobs through increased demand.

So, how much should the minimum wage be raised? Congressional Democrats introduced a bill to raise it to $10.10 an hour. Others believe it should be raised to $15.00 an hour (and I agree). If the minimum wage had risen as much as inflation, it would be more than $22.00 an hour by now (a livable wage). But that won't happen. However, it should be raised to at least $15.00 an hour. That would NOT be too large a raise (and in fact would still not be truly a livable wage in many states, even for a single person). Note the charts above.

Note also the following executive summary of a new report from the Alliance for a Just Society:

Since 1999, the Alliance for a Just Society has produced an annual living wage report calculating what it actually costs to make ends meet for households in selected states. For the first time this year, the Job Gap Economic Prosperity Series includes a living wage for all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Although $15 per hour is significantly higher than any minimum wage in the country, it is not a living wage in most states. A national living wage for a single adult is actually $16.87 per hour, based on a weighted average of living wages across the country.

In 35 states and in Washington, D.C., a living wage for a single adult is more than $15 per hour. In no state is a living wage less than $14.26 an hour.

The federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour isn’t even half of a living wage for a single adult and the federal tipped subminimum wage of $2.13 per hour is less than a third of that the non-tipped minimum wage. A worker supporting only herself would have to put in 93 hours a week at the federal minimum wage to make ends meet, and a tipped worker could have to work more hours than there are in a week to support herself if tips aren’t enough to make up the difference.

Workers supporting families must earn even more. In Massachusetts, for example, a single parent with two children must be paid $43.30 per hour to make ends meet.

When workers don’t earn a living wage, they must either find a way to work more hours or cut back on necessities. Often, these are workers in important occupations that we all depend on, such as fast food and restaurant workers, retail salespersons, child care workers, and more. Women and people of color, who are more likely to work in these occupations, are less likely than their peers to e arn a living wage.

Workers are struggling, and it is past time for change. Increasing the federal minimum wage to a living wage and abolishing the tipped subminimum wage will be a strong step in the right direction, while unionization and enforcement of equal opportunity statutes will ensure that all workers have access to benefits and protections in the workplace.

Working full-time should ensure financial stability. To make that happen, it’s time to move beyond $15 per hour. 

I agree. I doubt more than $15.00 an hour could be accomplished, but that should at least be the minimum raise considered.