Losing Sight of the Basics
It is common for us to lose touch with some simple basics.
Life is busy and tends to distract us from facts that are important to us. Here’s an example:
“Fact: If the federal minimum wage
had kept up with inflation over the past 40 years it would be $10.69 an hour.
Instead it’s $7.25 an hour.”
~tinyurl.com
Think about it. Why are we put off by establishing a minimum
wage? Why are we so cheap when we actually get around to changing the set rate?
Look at the figures.
Assuming a person works full time, the $10.69 minimum wage would amount
to $21,380 annually. None of us could live on that income. If there were two
people in the household earning that amount the income would total $42,760. A
small family watching its pennies in today’s America could survive on that
income. Just barely.
But wait! The actual minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. That
amounts to $14,500 per year; for two people, $29,000. I know of no household
that could survive on that income unless they had free housing.
Minimum wage is not about hiring teenagers to cut our lawn,
or work a part time job in our store front or small assembly plant. Minimum
wage is about supporting families.
Dignity and common decency should compel us to raise the
minimum wage.
Think about it!
July 6, 2013
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