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Living by the hour


It’s no secret that the Bush administration hasn’t been a friend to the economy — at least not to the people who occupy the lower rungs of the economy.

In light of Bush’s reign of poverty, John Kerry has proposed increasing the minimum wage — which has remained at $5.15/hour since 1997 — to $7/hour by 2007.

Many people working in low-wage jobs often can’t get 40 hours/week. But for those who do manage to get 40 hours/week for all 52 weeks of the year, this increase translates into a meager annual income of $13,680 before taxes. In many instances, that salary is not accompanied by health insurance. And just imagine if you were a single parent with children to support …

Pay close attention to Kerry’s suggestion that increasing the minimum wage to $7/hour “would provide a family with enough money to buy ten months of groceries or pay for eight months of rent.”

His statement is a good indicator of the need to put living wage laws at the top of the national agenda. As Kerry’s statement implies, working full-time for $7/hour doesn’t guarantee a year of groceries or rent. The fact is that about 60 percent of workers in the United States earn less than $14/hour — before taxes. Most of these people only get by if they team up with another breadwinner. So even with this seemingly drastic minimum wage increase, single mothers and others without a second wage earner would still be forced to choose between food and shelter and working multiple jobs. Either way, they and their families will be forced to endure emotional and physical stress that is unsustainable over the long-term.

In her critically acclaimed book, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, Barbara Ehrenreich terms this unenviable predicament “acute distress.” What might be minor inconveniences for some can put such low-wage workers out of some much-needed money — or even cost them their jobs. The result, sadly, is that many hardworking people have no choice but to eat one meager meal a day, toil in spite of illness, avoid going to the doctor when they have acute problems, work two or three jobs just to make ends meet — even sleep in their cars or on the street.

Unfortunately, increasing the minimum wage still won’t drastically alter the predicament faced by these people. While the proposed $1.85 increase is an important first step, it’s not enough. Not only is it important for low-wage workers to vote this year to ensure that they elect the man supporting the wage increase, but it’s also important for those who don’t have to sleep in their cars to push for a wage that allows for a sustainable lifestyle.

We’re not talking Armani suits here — just enough food for a year and enough to pay the rent and get health care as needed.  

If we don’t push for more livable wages, two things are nearly certain: we’ll be paying exorbitant amounts as a nation (and as individual taxpayers) for welfare and Medicaid, and the poverty rate will continue to climb as the cost of living rises across the country.

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