Step 1 to Tackling Poverty - Creating a Living Wage

The minimum wage is the lowest amount on an hourly basis that an employer can pay an employee for their work by law.  States may have different minimum wages but they cannot be less than the Federal requirement of $5.85 per hour (scheduled to be raised to $6.55 per hour on July 24, 2008 and then $7.25 per hour on July 24, 2009).

The problem of course is no one can live on $5.85 per hour or $12,168 per year!

We need to pay workings a "living wage", not a minimum wage, and advocacy groups across the country are rising to support this initiative.   

Living wage advocates estimate that a family with TWO working adults and two children should earn about $10.36 an hour PER ADULT of a minimum of $43,076 per year.

Employers fear that paying employees a living rage would hurt their ability to compete with businesses in foreign countries that don't have minimum wages.   

But there are many reasons why a living wage is the RIGHT answer -

-  A Living Wage will decrease the need and cost for government support programs.

-  A Living Wage will create a greater incentive to work.

-  A Living Wage will stimulate the economy by providing money to poor people who necessarily will spend their entire paycheck.

-  A Living Wage will help make ends meet for out poorest people.

A Living Wage is STEP 1 of any poverty solution.

(The Economic Policy Institute has various resources and statistics related to the debate on minimum wage and a Living Wage.  See Links below for more information.)