Waging a Living Wage - Podcast

Campaigns are starting across the country to raise wages so that people who do work can sustain their families.   Living wages is a political hot potato because many businesses oppose being forced to raise the wages of their workers (since they don't want their costs to increase) and these same businesses have strong ties with politicians.

But as Madeline Janis-Aparicio, an individual leading campaigns to pay a living wage in Los Angeles points out, imagine what people's lives are like who are making $5.15 an hour.  They can't buy food.  They can't pay rent.  They can't pay their electric bills.  They have to live part of the times...in their cars.

The Podcast link on Living Wages (click on the link on the right of this page) talks about various efforts to induce companies to pay a living wage.  Minimum wages could become Living Wages if businesses were to just raise prices by 1 percent and pass this benefit to their workers.

Source:  Goodman, Amy, "Perspectives on a Living Wage."  25 Aug. 2006, http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2006/wagingaliving/special_goodman_la.html.

Putting a Face on Poverty - Videos

I have included several videos on this blog, some of which are intended to put a face on poverty and others of which are discussions about possible solutions.

Poverty is largely hidden.  The places where we allow poverty is where you can't see it.   If people acknowledge there is a poverty problem,  perhaps there will be a greater will to do something about it.  But you can't acknowledge what you don't see - and that is likely why little has been done during the last 40 years when President Lyndon Johnson first pledged to end poverty in the United States.

The panel discussions largely focus of creating more and better paying jobs as well as a safety net of services for people who are very poor and don't have anything or anyone to lean on.  For this to happen in a meaningful way, there needs to be political will.  However, poverty doesn't make it as a national priority goal because our poor people are hidden where you can't see them and they are unlikely voters - unfortunately, they are less visible than the residents of Bagdhad.

Sources:

"Poverty in America - Healthcare."  15 Nov. 2007. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8267066399851303004&q=poverty+in+america&hl=en.

Wholey, Dennis.  "Poverty in America (Part 1)."  This is America Show.  17 May 2006. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8622463747024825563&q=poverty+in+america&hl=en.

 

"CCUSA Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America Launch:  Highlights of Congressional Hearing."  10 Jan. 2007.  http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7573547532093132168&q=poverty+in_ameria&hl=en.

"Child Poverty in America."  Dreams Innovation Production.  1985. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=976814404625130571&q=poverty+in+america&hl=en.

Step 2 to Tackling Poverty – A Living Wage Job

As John Edwards stated, "Every American should have the change to work their way out of poverty."

Jobs require training and preparation. Jobs also require a commitment to invest local and national resources to provide incentives to create new jobs and provide oportunities for our disadvantaged poor people. Adult education and literacy services are also needed to help build skills required to secure living wage jobs.

Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (or BOSS) is one local organization dedicated to helping homeless families and individuals obtain jobs, housing, and heath care in Berkeley. For instance, the Boss Clean City Program is a partnership with the City of Berkeley that helps employ the homeless in public works jobs throughout Berkeley. 

How do we create one million jobs? We provide significant incentives for employers to create jobs and require our cities to provide jobs for the poorest members of our community.

Sources:

"A National Goal: End Poverty Within 30 Years." 2008. http://www.johnedwards.com/issues/poverty/.

"Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency." 2007. http://www.self-sufficiency.org

Poverty Reduces Lifespan by 15 Years

A report released last Thursday by the Alameda County Public Health Department exposes a widening gap between the poor and the rest of in our community.  A black child living in West Oakland can expect to die 15 years earlier than a white child in the Oakland Hills.  This difference is not a result of differences in murder rates between these areas.  The dramatic difference in lifespan is driven by access to health care, nutritious food, exercise, pollution, and other factors.

The fact that poor don't live as long as wealthy people is not surprising.  The fact the the difference in lifespan could be 15 years is shocking.  Poverty is a profound issue for our community - but one that seems to get little attention.  

Source:  Fernandez, Elizabeth, "Study Spotlights Bleak Effects of Poverty."  San Francisco Chronicle  18 Apr. 2008: A1.

Help the Poor - As Long As They Stay Out of My Neighborhood!

The Concord soup kitchen is being forced to close its door because of community complaints about the program's location.  Neighbors said the poor visiting the kitchen do not behave and loiter in a park nearby a residential area.  The Concord soup kitchen serves 5,000 meals a day to poor people.  Sara Steffens, a staff writer for the Contra Costa Times, interviewed Jayme Hall, a Concord native who worries how she will eat.  Hall lives on $800 a month from government payments, and her rent is $625.  She has no car and walks to the dining hall.

Many people can sympathize with the plight of the poor but, not surprisingly, no one wants poor people loitering in their neighborhood.  Everybody seemingly wants to help the poor, just as long as they don't need to see them!

Source:  Steffens, Sara, "Concord soup kitchen forced to close its doors."  Contra Costa Times 15 Apr. 2008: A1.

Trying to Eat on $3 per Day

So $3 per day is what the average recipient of food stamps receives.

I went to Safeway to try to figure out what you can buy for $3 a day or $21 a week and here is what I came up with -

Cheerios cereal ($3.00) plus a gallon of milk for the week ($3.99).

$7 spent, $14 to go.

Safeway Peanut butter ($2.00), Safeway Grape Jelly ($1.50), White Bread ($1.50)

$5 spent, $9 left.

Mac & Cheese Dinner (.60 cents per serving - 3 nights), Budget Gourmet Frozen Dinners ($1.00 per night - 4 nights)

About $6 spent, $3 left.

Bananas or oranges at 40 cents a piece so we could afford one each day.

You could of course buy a six pack of coke for $2.50 but you would need to give up the fruit.

It isn't easy to live on $3.

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.)