The Value of the Minimum
Wage Increase
Congressman Charles Rangel exhorts the crowd at a Washington rally celebrating the increase of the minimum wage. (Front Standing, L-R) Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Dick Durbin, Rep. Barbara Lee, and Rep. Steny Hoyer. |
Democrats are building an economic approach that lifts every
American, not just the privileged few. The average American CEO earns
more before lunchtime in one day than a minimum wage worker earns all
year. This is not the kind of America we want our children to grow up
in. This month, Americans get a long-awaited pay raise.
On July 24th,
the first federal pay raise for working Americans in almost 10 years goes
into effect. This raise is part of our New Direction towards shared prosperity,
and is a down payment on a broader American agenda for working families.
It is
wrong to have millions of Americans working full-time and year-round,
yet still living in poverty. The current federal minimum wage of $5.15
an hour is simply not enough to cover the needs of the average family
as they struggle with increasing costs of child care, education, health
insurance, and gasoline prices. The value of the minimum wage has dropped
to its lowest level in over half a century and while the federal minimum
wage for American workers has not increased since 1997.(What has? See the chart below.)
Working
full time, a minimum wage worker brings home only $10,712 a year, nearly
$6,000 below the poverty level for a family of three. Raising the minimum
wage this month means a $4,400 yearly pay raisemoney that could
pay for 15 months of groceries, or more than two years of health care.
It could buy 19 months of utilities, 20 months of child care, or 30 months
of college tuition at a public, 2-year college.
Over the next two
years, the minimum wage will increase from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 per
hour. Thanks to this increase, in 2009 a family of four will move from
11 percent below the poverty line to 5 percent above the poverty line.
Nearly 13 million Americans will benefit from the increase.
The
minimum wage increase will have a direct positive impact for:
Women.
Almost 60 percent of the 13 million workers who will benefit from a
minimum wage increase are women.
Minorities.
Forty percent of those who will benefit are people of color.
Families.
Of the workers who will get a raise, 3.4 million are parents and 6.4
million children will see their parents income rise. Families
with affected workers rely on those workers for more than half of their
familys income.
Military
Families. Ten
percent of military spouses earn between $5.15 and $7.25 per hour. 50,000
military families will benefit from an increase in the minimum wage
to $7.25 per hour.
Raising the minimum
wage is essential to the security of Americas families and children.
The new Democratic-led Congress is delivering on our priorities for working
families through the minimum wage increase; it is an initial step towards
our broader agenda that prioritizes working Americans.
Learn
more about the minimum wage increase from the Education and Labor Committee>>
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