OPINION: On raising the federal minimum wage
Consider this: you want to provide medicine, food and education for your children, but you also don’t want to suffer from the physical toll of grueling housekeeping work as your third job. This dichotomy is forced upon millions of Americans each and every day.
To top it off, the cost of life’s essentials have gone up since the last minimum wage increase, as the prices of groceries and average tuition have increased by 20% and 44%, respectively. It is imperative that we link the federal minimum wage to the cost of living, to help not only our economy, but also those who have been in desperate need of our nation’s collective attention.
It is preposterous that there are people in the United States today who work long, hard hours for their family yet are still stuck in poverty. According to Oxfam America, one in five U.S. workers would benefit from a higher minimum wage, be it an urban, rural, or blue-collar worker. You may not be personally affected, but it is more than likely that you know someone who is.