Minimum Wage

This week I was watching C-Span2, as I often do. Years ago I used to subscribe to the Congressional Record. It came in the mail and it was free. I thought it was amazing that I had access to the speeches and text of what went on in Congress.

Senator Dick Durbin from Illinois spoke about an amendment that will be presented by Senator Edward Kennedy. Senator Durbin is the co-sponsor. It will raise the minimum wage in three steps over several years. First, to $5.85, then to $6.55, and finally to $7.25. The minimum wage is now at $5.15 and has not been raised for 9 years.

President Franklin Roosevelt first created the federal minimum wage. Senator Durbin said that raising the federal minimum wage would benefit 6 1/2 million workers, half of whom are women. He said that 37 million Americans are living in poverty, which is 10% of all Americans. 13 million are children. Since the late 1970's poverty in the United States has increased by 50%.

Senator Durbin said that a minimum wage employee working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year earns $10,700 a year. This is $6,000 below the federal poverty guideline of $16,600 for a family of three. He said, "We should be ashamed of our nation where we have reached this point where we ignore what we are doing to people because of minimum wage."

He went on to say, "While we have consistently year after year denied an increase in minimum wage to the poorest, hardest working Americans, we have every year without fail increased congressional pay. Our salaries have gone up while we have ignored the plight of the poorest among us."

Those Americans earning minimum wage are not our poorest Americans, for we have an invisible poor who are homeless and without shelter living in our country. Even if the minimum wage were raised to $7.25 in a few years, I doubt that it will make up for inflation and pay for the needs of a family with health insurance, child care, food, housing, clothing, gas, heating, etc.

Something to think about but we can write to our Senators and ask them to support the Kennedy Amendment to raise the minimum wage. Another thing we can do is to write a letter of thanks to Senators Kennedy and Durbin for leading this effort to raise the minimum wage. So often acts of courage are not remembered with a letter of thanks. Senator Durbin said, "There was a time when both political parties cared about the issue of poverty. Today we don't discuss it. I don't know why. I think we should." So do I.