Raising the Minimum Wage

James Andrews wrote an opinion column today in the Raleigh News and Observer about raising the minimum wage. He cites some revealing statistics regarding the lifestyle of the lowest paid workers.

Since 1997 the cost of a loaf of bread has gone from $.86 to $1.04; a dozen eggs have gone from $1.15 to $1.45; and a gallon of gas from $1.26 to $2.32, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The federal minimum hourly wage has gone from $5.15 to $5.15.

The debate over raising the minimum wage is not new, but it is good to see continued concern voiced amidst the saturation of conservative economic rhetoric in most contemporary public media.

And if minimum wage workers earned enough to provide for their families, taxpayers would not need to pick up the tab for employers who do not pay their workers a living wage. Unfortunately, the lowest-paid working Americans cannot pinch any more pennies or tighten their belts further. They are holding down multiple jobs just to make ends meet. At the current minimum wage level, a full-time, year-round minimum wage worker will earn $5,888 less than the $16,660 needed to lift a family of three out of poverty. That puts many minimum wage workers among the 37 million Americans, including 1.2 million North Carolinians, living in poverty.

(Note: In the print edition of the News and Observer there is a great opinion piece by Duke cultural anthropology professor Orin Starn about Tiger Woods, race, and golf. At the time of this posting the article was not available online. It is a great read for all progressive-minded sports fans before watching one of the South’s greatest sporting events at Augusta National this weekend.)