$15 a Necessary but Insufficient Boost to Minimum Wage
The federal minimum wage in the US has been $7.25 an hour since 2009. Since then the cost of living has increased significantly, but lawmakers have either been unwilling or unable to raise wages. Many democratic members of congress have backed a hike up to a $15 minimum, and President Biden included the raise in his presidential platform. Unfortunately, to get the recent COVID-19 relief package past obstructionists in congress, the proposed increase to $15 was dropped from the bill. Once again, Americans find themselves waiting for a mandated increase to what is an absurdly and insultingly low federal minimum wage. The debate over the raise has been going on for so many years that even an increase to $15 today would not provide a livable wage for any American, let alone for an entire family.
One major roadblock to the expansion of minimum wage is the prominence of false information that scares even low-income voters away from supporting its passage. Americans are commonly sold the idea that raising the minimum wage would result in higher prices on goods and widespread job loss, as well as that paying workers a fair wage would be unsustainable for businesses. In reality, higher pay has been proven to benefit workers and create job growth where it has been implemented. Many states have already enacted a higher minimum wage than the federal baseline, and have yet to suffer the economic doom promised by opponents. Working class Americans with more money to spend are stimulants for economic growth.
A protester holds a sign at an Occupy Wall Street march in Oct. 2011. (Spencer Platt | Getty Images)
Executives of large corporations appear to be the only group not poised to benefit from paying their workers fairly. This incredibly small, wealth-hoarding minority pays off lawmakers and scares employees to perpetuate the baseless belief that increasing the minimum wage would be anything but a win for the vast majority of Americans. As long as their fear-mongering narratives spread unopposed, the greed of big businesses is protected at the expense of the working class. Sen. Bernie Sanders has a well-documented history of taking on major corporations to champion working-class Americans. He points out that by keeping the minimum wage low businesses not only hoard wealth for their higher-ups, but they also shift the brunt of financial responsibility onto the working class, whose tax dollars are used to fund the social safety net that aids the underpaid.
Unfortunately, Sanders is a rare legislator in that he truly puts Americans before the interests of corporations. Special interest money from corporate donors is a powerful force in the US political system, keeping elected officials loyal to the wealthy and perpetuating institutional poverty. Lawmakers who oppose a livable minimum wage do so at the expense of the health, comfort and dignity of millions of American workers. A $15 minimum wage, if it is implemented reasonably soon, would be a good step forward for the working class. Ultimately though, policies that will effectively and sufficiently improve lives will be won when Americans champion elected officials who refuse corporate donors and put the working class first.
