$15 an hour isn’t enough: U.S. workers need to earn a living wage
As cost increases persist and workers try to keep up, buzzwords like “poverty wage,” “minimum wage” and “living wage” are coming back into the lexicon, shaping conversations about what it means to make enough and who decides where to draw the line.
The federal minimum wage, which was last raised in 2009, stands at $7.25 an hour.
A full-time employee, working an average of 40 hours per week on minimum wage, makes $15,000 annually (which puts these workers below the poverty line in many states).
A recent study from SmartAsset found that the average American worker needs $68,499 in after-tax income to live comfortably. That works out to around $85,000 in total income––assuming a 20% tax hit.
A third of Americans make less than $15 per hour
The fact is that over a third of the total workforce (52 million Americans) makes less than $15 per hour.
The people most impacted by low wages are historically marginalized populations: women and people of color. More than half (58.7%) of minimum wage workers in the U.S. are women, 21.8% are Hispanic, 12.2% are Black and 14.4% are multiracial and/or Native.
These are the people suffering the worst sticker shock at the grocery store and the gas pump, choosing between rent and utilities. What’s more, current federal law still allows U.S. employers to pay sub-minimum wages to nearly a million workers.
This lower “tipped minimum wage” is a long-standing weakness of the federal minimum wage and many state minimum wages that is fundamentally inequitable.
The Raise the Wage Act of 2023, introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate on July 25th, aims to gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $17 an hour by 2028.
The bill will also aim to gradually raise and then eliminate subminimum wages for tipped workers, workers with disabilities, and youth workers, so that all workers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) will be at the same wage level.
Raising the income of millions of workers
According to a report by the Economic Policy Institute, a national $15 minimum wage by 2025 would raise the incomes of tens of millions of workers, including servers in restaurants, grocery store employees, and essential health care workers as well as two million direct care workers who provide long-term services and supports.
Overall, the outsize impact would be on workers above the age of 25, women, workers of color, and those living below the poverty line. More than a million single-parent households will also benefit from the raise.
In the absence of federal action, many cities and states (through legislation, ballot measure or annual cost of living adjustments) have already bumped up their own minimum wages—some of them to double the federal baseline.
Thirty states in all have raised their minimum wage including 23 states that imposed a hike at the start of this year.
On July 1st, Oregon raised its minimum wage to $14.20. Portland’s minimum wage went up to $15.45. Washington, D.C.’s minimum wage rose to $17. Nevada increased to $11.25. Connecticut’s minimum wage went to $15.00.
Inflation adjustments also happened in 12 locales in California including San Francisco ($18.07), Los Angeles ($16.78), and West Hollywood ($19.08), which now has the highest minimum wage in the country.
Supporting working families
However, even these hikes are inadequate to truly support working families. A true living wage that supports a basic standard of living without food and housing insecurity would be between $20 and $26 or more per hour, depending on the state.
For example, the most expensive places to live in the U.S. are Hawaii and Washington D.C., where you’d need to make $38.57 per hour and $39.41, respectively, to meet the basic necessities as an adult with one child.
Two states that have the lowest cost of living are South Dakota and Mississippi, where you would still need to make $27.06 and $26.74 to meet basic needs.
In many places, $15 per hour wouldn’t be a sufficient living wage for a single person. Even without children, living wages in Hawaii and Washington D.C. are $19.43 and $20.49, respectively.
Start the conversation with living wages
Living wage should be the starting point in the conversation of wages. And beyond wages, this conversation should engage all of us to consider what it really means to “live”.
Quality of life should be accessible to all, as should the need for affordable access to healthy food, clean water, safe housing, universal health care, paid sick and vacation leave, affordable childcare––and more––for everyone.
If an equitable workplace is key for you, it’s worth checking out opportunities with organizations committed to positive change in today’s working culture. Your first stop? Head for The Hill Jobs Board where you can browse hundreds of jobs right now. Here are three hiring this week.
Deputy Director of Government Relations, Bread for the World, Washington
Bread for the World is looking to recruit a Deputy Director of Government Relations to help provide departmental leadership and implement policy and legislative strategy on domestic or international issues affecting people experiencing hunger and poverty in the U.S. and abroad. The ideal candidate will have a bachelor’s degree in public policy or related areas, although a master’s degree or other post-graduate degree is preferred. To apply, you’ll need eight years of Hill or lobbying experience, as well as staff supervisory and management experience.
Director, Governmental Affairs & Public Policy, American Gas Association, Washington
The American Gas Association is seeking a Director, Governmental Affairs & Public Policy to serve as an advocate for the natural gas industry who will represent AGA before the U.S. Congress, administrative agencies of the federal government and key policymakers and stakeholders. A qualified candidate’s resume will include an undergraduate degree, at least five years of experience with federal lobbying, experience working with Members of Congress, committee staff, and personal office congressional staff, and experience in the energy sector.
Associate Deputy Chief Financial Officer, Office of The Chief Financial Officer, MD
The Office of the Chief Financial Officer has an open role for an Associate Deputy Chief Financial Officer in its Maryland office. The successful hire will be second in command to the Deputy Chief Financial Officer, responsible for providing oversight of the day-to-day operational activities within OBP. To apply you’ll need a Bachelor’s degree in economics, accounting, business administration, finance, or related field as well as nine years of financial/budgetary experience (ideally with a federal or state agency).
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