Month: March 2016
Comic
The Minimum Wage Machine
Against Minimum Wage?
Should we give our citizens livable wages?
Seems like an easy answer…Yes…but why has it become one of the hottest topics of our time?
Today, the United States of America holds itself to be the land of opportunity. But, is this opportunity only for those with privilege and resources? How can a country so great still have such detrimental setbacks? Information from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services states, as of 2015 roughly 50 million Americans live in poverty. With a family of 3-4 people, their income does not meet the rough measure of 24,000 dollars a year. With that a study done by the University of California, Davis Center for Poverty Research has found that minimum wage employees earn about 15,000 dollars annually. This in no way can support a family. So why are so many people against the Rai$e It Movement?
Almost always the finger is pointed at the wrong groups of people. An article by Ira Stoll writes about why raising the minimum wage is a terrible idea. It reinstates that main things we always hear. You will always hear that its only college kids working minimum wage or those who are not independent. Or that it is illegal immigrants who will take all the jobs and they will get free money. Worst of all, an argument is that raising minimum wage is not a hand-up but rather a free handout to those who do not “earn success”or “earn their education.” Immediately people point to the wrong crowds. The majority who make up this need for a higher wage are working class adults. Information from the United States Department of Labor states, it is actually 89% of the minimum wage class that is 20 years or older. It is unfair to categorize these hard workers as anything less. Minimum wage has not grown with the economy. It has instead stagnated and we have faced the consequences. People will not lose their jobs and business owners will be able to afford the growth. Rai$e It.
Nearly 1M in N.J. would benefit from $15 minimum wage, report says
Check out how the people of New Jersey would benefit from increasing the minimum wage via Nj.com
Raise-the-Wage: An Affirmative View
Millions of Americans have rallied together to support the Raise-the-Wage movement. One quote that can sum up the ideology of this campaign reads:
“Of course, nothing helps families make ends meet like higher wages…and to everyone in this Congress who still refuses to raise the minimum wage, I say this: If you truly believe you could work full-time and support a family on less than $15,000 a year, go try it. If not, vote to give millions of the hardest-working people in America a raise.” –President Obama, State of the Union address, Jan. 20, 2015.
This quote displays our President’s support for the Raise-the-Wage Act set in place to increase our minimum wage to $12.00 per hour by the year 2020. Although Obama’s ability to make this change is limited by a congressional vote, he was still able to raise the minimum wage for federal jobs to $10.10 per hour. President Obama is only one of the millions fighting to increase our country’s minimum wages.
Since 2013, 18 states and Washington D.C. along with 40 different cities have passed laws to increase their minimum wage. There are also businesses of all sizes that have opted to raise their wages on their own. These raises help citizens to receive fair pay for a given job; which in turn ends up stimulating local economies where employees spend their money. The average minimum wage employee today earns less than $15,000 per year. About 30 years ago, the average actual value of a minimum wage employee was equivalent of over $20,000 per year. This proves that something needs to be done to solve this issue, and fast. If we rally together as a country to support #RaisetheWage we will continue to fill this gap that has been robbing millions of hard working Americans from the money they deserve. Share your thoughts on the issue and help spread awareness by tweeting your opinion with the hashtag above!
According to Inequality.org The world’s 1 percent, almost entirely billionaires, own $42.7 trillion dollars, more than the bottom 3 billion residents of earth.
Why Raise the Minimum Wage? by UC Berkley
UC Berkley Labor Center shows us a number of powerful reasons as to why the minimum wage should be increased.
Raise the Minimum Wage to $15 Per Hour by MoveOn
Watch Robert Reich tell you why the federal minimum wage should be increased!
Who We Are – Michelle Sparling
Hi! My name is Michelle Sparling and I am one of the five contributors of Rai$e It. This is my second semester as a transfer student at the University of Maryland. I am currently in my junior year majoring in communications.
Minimum wage has always been a personal issue because I have worked for these unlivable wages. When I was 16 it was a bit of a different story since I was living with my parents and I did not pay rent. I jumped from retail store to retail store just for the difference of a few cents. I finally found a decent job when I was a senior in high school working as a swim instructor, paying about $10.50 and hour. I was beginning to save for school but it almost seemed impossible with College Park’s tuition and living expenses. Rent alone on average is $900 a month and to simply park my car is an addition $120 a month. This does not include the cost of tuition, textbooks, groceries, and any other activities. I did not want to burden my parents or myself with thousands and thousands of dollars in debt. I had to make the tough decision to continue living at home in order to work and go to community college. Now here, it was still mind blowing to come up with over $1000 just to live each month. I again had to make a saddening decision to live a few miles away from campus in order to afford rent at half the cost. With my family being labeled as “upper-middle class,” it is unthinkable that it is still a struggle to live comfortably as a young-adult and student.
Rai$e It. 
