So let\u2019s have a discussion about the minimum wage. Here in Ohio, it\u2019s $8.55 per hour. The national minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. So let\u2019s do some figuring, to find out what those numbers mean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$8.55 an hour means a gross pay of $342 a week (for a 40-hour work week), $1368 per month, or $17,100 a year. And that\u2019s if you\u2019re lucky. Lucky to live in Ohio, lucky to work 2000 hours in a year, and lucky to not get sick or laid off. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$7.25 an hour, the national minimum, obviously is less: $290 per week, $1160 per month, or $14500 a year \u2013 less. But an either case, it\u2019s not credible to call the minimum wage a \u201cliving\u201d wage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a single person, to be 100% eligible for Federal assistance, you can only make $12,760 per year. So even at the national minimum wage, someone working a fulltime job (2000 hours a year) would be way \u201cover\u201d the poverty line. To quote the Parkland kids \u2013 I call \u201cBS\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s say you\u2019re paying $600 a month for rent (that\u2019s the cheapest here in Pataskala). You manage to only eat $250 per month worth of food (that\u2019s $62, or nine Big Mac value meals, a week). And, in many places in the United States, there is no such thing as reliable public transportation. A car, gas, insurance: maybe that\u2019s another $150, though one minor mechanical difficulty will blow that right out of the water. So with rent, food, and transportation you\u2019ve gone through more than one thousand dollars. And you haven\u2019t bought (or washed) underwear, or eyeglasses, or shoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In \u201creal life\u201d, neither $7.25 or $8.55 is a living wage. It\u2019s a wage guaranteed to require something else \u2013 another job, someone to help pay for things, or going into debt. It also guarantees that the \u201cPathway to improvement\u201d, the old \u201cpull yourself up by your bootstraps\u201d through education, isn\u2019t available. There\u2019s not the time, nor the money, to get that done. Living on the real minimum wage locks people into an essential struggle to survive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What would a $15 per hour minimum wage do? Run the numbers: $600 per week, $2400 a month, or $30,000 a year. It\u2019s a wage that allows folks to actually live, instead of just survive. It creates discretionary income, to pay for education, to put aside for retirement, to save for a future home or business venture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1978 I signed my first teaching contract for $8000 a year. That small amount was able to take care of my $125 a month rent, $.75 a gallon gas, and a Big Mac value meal of $1.79 (though there wasn\u2019t a McDonald\u2019s in Pataskala back then). I was able to pay for further education, and drive my 1967 Volkswagen \u2013 even pay for repairs at \u201cMike\u2019s\u201d. And what is 1978\u2019s $8000 worth in 2021 dollars: $32000. By the way, beginning teaching salary in the local school is still under $40,000 a year. Teachers haven\u2019t made much progress over forty years in getting above a minimal wage.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ohio\u2019s Democratic Senator, Sherrod Brown, speaks often about \u201cthe dignity of work\u201d. He recognizes that most Americans want to work, they want to \u201cpay their way\u201d. But to make that \u201cAmerican Dream\u201d available, there has to be a tangible result \u2013 a living wage. We can\u2019t define \u201cliving\u201d as barely scraping by, one small expense away from disaster. If we want folks to have that \u201cdignity\u201d, then we need to establish a \u201cfloor\u201d, a base pay that will provide that dignity. And that \u201cfloor\u201d isn\u2019t extravagant. It won\u2019t, by itself, support a family. A family today requires both adults work, something that a half century ago wasn\u2019t necessary. That\u2019s progress, I guess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Currently 44% of American workers earn less than a $15 per hour wage. So what does that do? It forces 8% of American workers to work two jobs. It also makes the average worker put in an extra five hours a week overtime. That\u2019s 250 extra hours a year \u2013 or the equivalent of more than four extra weeks of work. So our 2021 era requires a big percentage of Americans to work far more than a forty-hour work week, for low wages \u2013 that\u2019s our \u201cAmerican Dream\u201d? <\/p>\n\n\n\n We hear apocalyptic scenario of what would happen if the United States had a $15 minimum wage. According to that vision, millions of Americans would lose their jobs, thousands of small businesses would fail, and inflation would spiral out of control. But would it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Any change in wage and salary rules will have a negative impact on some businesses \u2013 it would be foolish to deny that. There would be adjustments. And the costs of some of those adjustments, including higher costs for goods, would be borne by those who buy those goods. So a higher minimum wage is likely to raise costs for folks who buy more stuff, those who already are making more than that minimum wage. It would cause some \u201cincome leveling\u201d, by raising the floor for many, it would likely make those already way above that floor to pay some more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And some Americans would lose their current jobs as businesses \u201csort out\u201d a higher bottom wage. So there will be some negative impacts for some people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But for a large percentage of American workers, a $15 minimum wage would change their lives for the better, and give them greater access to the \u201cAmerican dream\u201d. It would create Senator Brown\u2019s \u201cdignity of work\u201d, and also allow more Americans to have a life beyond work. That\u2019s something many cannot have now. A $15 minimum wage would allow American workers to live for more than just a paycheck.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dignity of Work<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Our Dream<\/h3>\n\n\n\n