Posted by Dave on 07/24/08 at 03:20:43 pm
Categories: Economy, Labor

Today is a good day for many working people around the country as the minimum wage hike kicks in:

The national minimum wage went up 70 cents on Thursday as the second of three planned increases mandated by Congress took effect.

The national minimum wage will increase to $6.55 per hour as part of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007.

Before last year's legislation, the national minimum wage had been left unchanged at $5.15 an hour since 1997.

The act calls for a third and final increase, scheduled to take place on July 24, 2009, that will raise the minimum wage to $7.25 per hour.

Both Working Life and OurFuture have more.

From Working Life:

- Adjusted for inflation, the minimum wage today is what it was in the 1950s--more than half a century ago.
- To really make ends meet at minimum wage pay, two people in a household have to work three full-time minimum wage jobs.

And OurFuture points out that, contrary to many conservative theories, there are numerous studies that show that minimum wage increases are not harmful to the economy:

The most credible economic studies prove that the dire predictions by conservative ideologues and business interests have never panned out after previous minimum wage increases. That includes one just released by the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment at the University of California at Berkeley that helps to rebut some of the claims often made that minimum wage increases lead to higher teen-age unemployment.

You can view many of those studies at the Economic Policy Institute, as well as the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment.

But while this is good news, it is far from enough. In a time where the rich are continually getting a larger and larger share of the pie, $6.55 per hour is hardly enough to live on, and even further from enough to have any semblance of an equitable society.

Think about it... as food prices continue to soar, gas prices are outrageous, housing is becoming simply unaffordable, even at higher levels of income, the vast majority of the people in this country are struggling every day to get by. They are worrying where their food is going to come from tomorrow. They are being forced to make impossible decisions such as whether to buy their necessary medication or to buy food. They are struggling to even afford the gas that is requisite for them to even get to the job that they make just enough money to pay for more gas. Child care has become unaffordable for the average working American. Energy prices are soaring, making it nearly impossible to keep your house warm, keep your oven on, or even keep lights on. Without health insurance they put off necessary medical procedures, and without being able to afford any medicine, the problems are just exacerbated. And then they become too sick to work, but they cannot afford ways to get healthy and their financial situation continues to spiral down.

We have a problem in this country. We have millions and millions of workers who have struggle with these nearly impossible situations every single day while the top 1% revel in the comfort of their wealth.

A minimum wage increase is nice. And it is needed. And it will help many people.

But we need more. And we need it soon.

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