The Wage Ethic

Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Ted Kennedy has renewed his annual fight to raise the minimum wage. Criticize this guy all you want but he is an ambassador for the poor. In the face of overwhelming Republican opposition, he is trying to bring morality and ethics to a Congress lacking in both.

Why do I say Congress is lacking in morality and ethics? Because since 1997 they have not supported giving the poorest Americans a raise but during that span they have raised their own salaries by $31,000. Congress claims that America cannot afford a minimum wage increase but, adjusted for inflation, corporate profits are up a staggering 85% while the minimum wage fell 41% and the average hourly wage fell 4%. The retail sector, which employs a large numbers of workers at or near minimum wage, profits have skyrocketed 159% while wages have tumbled.

Wages are a moral issue in this country. Do you think wages are not a moral issue? Then answer these questions:

• It is immoral that workers who put food on our table go without health care to put food on theirs?
• It is immoral that workers who care for children, the ill and the elderly struggle to care for their own families?
• It is immoral that the minimum wage keeps people in poverty and does not help them get out of poverty?
• It is immoral that Congress votes to limit wages of the poorest Americans but likewise increases their own wages?

These statistics support the minimum wage increase and prove businesses are not hurt like naysayer’s forecast. In the words of Joel Marks, national director of the American Small Business Alliance, "Fair wages are good for business."

With the federal minimum wage stuck in quicksand, a growing number of states have raised their state minimums above $5.15—Oregon and Washington are highest at $7.50 and $7.63, respectively. Studies by the Fiscal Policy Institute and others have shown that states with minimum wages above the federal level have had better employment trends than the other states, including for retail businesses and small businesses.

Dan Gardner, commissioner of Oregon's Bureau of Labor and Industries, says, "Overall most low-wage workers pump every dollar of their paychecks directly into the local economy by spending their money in their neighborhood stores, local pharmacies and corner markets. When the minimum wage increases, local economies benefit from the increased purchasing power."

The minimum wage has become a poverty wage instead of an anti-poverty wage. A full-time worker at minimum wage makes just $10,712 a year—less than $900 a month—to cover housing, food, health care, transportation and other expenses.

I cannot imagine raising a family on $10,712 per year, yet many American families are doing it every year. In the words of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have little.”

I think another famous individual born in Bethlehem said something similar. I still find it hilarious that many politicians claim to be Christian and then vote for legislation that hurts poor families or ignore legislation that could help poor families. Can you say, hypocrite?

Labels: ,

2 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

Spot on!

I make between $7-10 per hour (2 part time jobs totaling about 45 hrs per week) in the summer, and I can barely afford my apartment, car, food, and other living expenses on that alone.

Raising a family on $10k a year is impossible. Even with 2 parents working full time on $6 an hour is still not enough to raise support themselves alone. It's insane!

Good post.

9:26 AM  
Blogger DarthImmortal said...

Liz,
Thanks for your comments. I also did not mention that minimum wage is just enough income to prevent a family from getting other forms of government aid such as food stamps or Medicaid. So the problems keep compounding while the solutions are fleeting.

Many people criticize Ted Kennedy but he has crusaded for a minimum wage increase for the past several years.

12:20 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home