“Some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world. This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system. Meanwhile, the excluded are still waiting.” - Pope Francis
“It will harm the economy!” they say. “It will kill jobs!” they scream on A.M. radio. “As corporate profits go up, the wealth will trickle down!” they lie.
It was promised to us by President Obama in 2008, and we are still waiting. A promise the President originally campaigned on was to raise the minimum wage to $9.50 for an hour’s worth of work by 2011, and tie it to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).1 Recently, there has been talk amongst the political elites that now is the time for the minimum wage debate to be propelled back into mainstream American politics in hopes of boosting it out of its stationary and scant $7.25 an hour.
Of course, this proposal will face stiff opposition from corporate America, despite their record profits. “Corporate Profits Soar as Worker Income Limps,” profoundly proclaims The New York Times.2 As The Economist points out, “The wage was last raised, to $7.25 per hour, in 2009. Since then its real value has slipped back to where it was in 1998.”3
Currently, in the world’s richest country, minimum wage workers make as much as they did in 1998, and the little income they receive is diminished ever so slightly as inflation erodes the value of their income.
This affects every single one of us, not just low wage workers. Worse of all, this is simply a covert form of corporate welfare for the largest corporations.
1998 level minimum wages are not livable wages in 2013, and it shows because the taxpayer ends up picking up the tab for workers who are willing to work, are able to work, and are currently working.
The taxpayer is picking up the tab for corporate America due to the fact that they will not provide a livable wage simply because they don’t have to. In fact, “In state after state, the largest group of Medicaid recipients is Walmart employees.” Congressman Alan Grayson (D-FL) illustrates. “I'm sure that the same thing is true of food stamp recipients. Each Walmart ‘associate’ costs the taxpayers an average of more than $1,000 in public assistance.”
That’s right, Uncle Sam pays more than $1000 per Walmart worker.
The argument made by corporate America that jobs would be lost if the minimum wage were to rise simply falls short of the facts. If every Walmart employee were given a 30% raise, Walmart would still be a profitable corporation.
Our hesitance as a nation to raise the minimum wage is simply hurting our fellow Americans, and corporate America knows it! McDonald’s published a sample budget to assist their employees with budgeting their money. Aside from its ludicrous estimates, such as $20 a month for health insurance and dedicating $0 a month for heating, the McBudget required the employee to work at McDonald’s and have another job for a total of a 70+ hour work week.4
When George W. Bush was informed that a woman in Omaha worked three jobs, he said that was, “Uniquely American,” and the crowd of Republicans he was speaking to instantly broke out in applause.5 Now, working multiple jobs is slowly becoming the norm thanks to the Republican hesitance to raise the minimum wage.
5.2% of hourly wage workers make at most minimum wage.
Yet, arguments that say it will hurt the economy are proven wrong in the real world every time.
In fact, raising the minimum wage might help the economy. The EPI estimates a $9.80 minimum wage would pump $100,000 into the economy.
We live in an economy dependant on consumer spending, with around 70% of the United States GDP being composed of consumer spending. It’s logical to assume that if you pay employees more, they will have more money in their pocket to spend, thus fueling the economy. Plus, it would free up some government money being given out as part of the social safety net, which so many hard working Americans are hopelessly laying on.
The minimum wage in Washington state is $9.19 an hour, yet it has a 7% unemployment rate, just slightly below the national average, and a cost of living that is also around the national average.
There are still businesses in Washington state that are profiting.
Small businesses are still commencing and thriving in Washington State.
Walmart still has locations in Washington State. So does McDonald’s. And so do many other low wage employers.
The median household income in Washington State is more than $10,000 higher than the national median household income. The poverty rate in Washington State is around six points less than the national average. In addition to having a $9.19 state minimum wage, Washington State also has areas with a $15 an hour minimum wage, and those areas are doing well, too.
The minimum wage workers of the land are waiting. They have been waiting. They haven’t, in practice, received a raise since 1998. They struggle to feed themselves and their families. A lot rely on government programs, and some may be on government programs because their employer encouraged them to do so. These workers are not lazy - they are far from it.
They are, “uniquely American,” and we shouldn’t be proud of that.
It’s time to raise the minimum wage to a livable one and tie it with the CPI.
-Luis Rolfo, Communications Chair
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