When I was 15 years old, I went through the process of getting a work permit so I could alleviate some of the financial burden I was beginning to put on my parents. With my monthly cell phone bill and a constant need for money to go out with friends, I thought it was time I took some responsibility. Ever since, I have been working jobs at which I have earned no more than $9 per hour. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. I am fortunate enough to have always lived in Illinois, a state that sets the minimum wage higher, at $8.25 per hour.
However, despite this slight increase in pay for Illinoisans, any wage under $10 per hour is simply not a living wage. The federal minimum wage law needs to be updated because doing so will reduce poverty, decrease the wage gaps between men and women and between the majority and minorities and boost the economy slightly. The cost of living continues to rise, and it is time for Americans’ incomes to catch up to it.
The most important reason why the minimum wage needs to be raised is that it currently does not allow people an income off of which they can live comfortably. My sister, now in her last year at Northeastern Illinois University, has been working at the minimum wage since she was 16 years old. It is impossible for her to earn and save enough to move out of our parents’ house and financially support herself. And she is not the only one. There are people and families across the nation who work at the minimum wage and cannot financially provide for themselves or their families. A response to this problem that commonly comes from politicians is that these people are not working hard enough, but this assertion is absurd. These people work hard for what little money they do earn, and still it is impossible to be supported by it.
Increasing the minimum wage would undoubtedly reduce poverty in America. If employers were required to pay at least $9 per hour, the incomes of millions of families would increase. Although this change would not eradicate poverty, it would thrust some above the poverty line. Using the same model, raising the minimum wage to over $10 per hour would push even more families above the poverty line. It is the government’s duty, if not legally but morally, to assist its citizens that are struggling to get by.
Minimum wage increases are also known to decrease wage gaps. Women hold about two-thirds of minimum-wage jobs in the United States. Updating the current laws to require employers to pay at least $10 per hour would boost millions of women’s incomes, allowing their earnings to be comparable to men’s. The same is true for the wage gap between the majority and minorities, because minorities tend to hold lower-paying jobs than whites.
Though opponents of a higher minimum wage argue that creating this new law will hurt the economy, this is untrue. By increasing the minimum wage to $9 per hour, there will be an estimated 0.3 percent increase in the U.S. Gross Domestic Product in the first year of its implementation. On top of this, the unemployment rate is predicted to go down as a result. If Americans are making more money, they will be more able to get that money into circulation by spending it, causing a slight economic improvement.
It is obvious that a higher minimum wage will improve the lives of millions of Americans, make the labor system more equal and potentially boost the economy. Overall, it is what Americans want: More than 90 percent of Democrats and about 60 percent of Republicans have reported that they are in favor of this initiative. This is clearly not a political party issue — it is an issue of government inaction. It is time for the American government to step up and make the change that Americans want and need.
Katy Vines is a Weinberg freshman. She can be reached at [email protected]. If you would like to respond publicly to this column, send a Letter to the Editor to [email protected].
