Whenever the question of #minimumwage comes up, the political right and left are up in arms. On one hand, the left wants an increase as it would see millions of Americans lifted out of poverty whereas the right seeks to maintain the integrity of the free market.
While the right does have some compelling arguments, they're ones best suited for textbooks and theoretical analysis as it rarely mirrors the reality of what's on the ground.
The current US minimum wage is $7 per hour. An 8-hour shift would be a mere $56 daily pay. This is not nearly enough to feed oneself and pay one's bills.
The growing inequality gap in America is concerning. One study found that the average American billionaire adds a minimum of two hundred million to his or her net worth every year. Meanwhile, the rising costs of goods and services without a commensurate increase in pay leads to the crushing economic hardship meted out to millions of Americans.
The minimum wage has increased not as quickly as the rising standards of living. The current $7.25 minimum wage pay is ten percent less than it was when it was enacted in 2009 after adjusting for inflation.
Conservatives argue that raising the minimum wage would swell the already swollen federal debt, but that doesn't have to be. An increase in minimum wage can be funded from increased government taxation on the wealthiest Americans. The wealthiest Americans have cheated the system time and time again while the brunt of the tax burden falls heavily on everyday Americans who are seeing their pay lose its worth.
With this in mind, not only should the wealthiest pay their fair share, the additional government revenue can be used to redistribute income to the average American and increase their standards of living. In an equitable society, no person should be earning billions every day while the average person, who works twice as hard, should earn peanuts.
The benefits of an increase in the minimum wage are too numerous to mention. Forty million Americans earn minimum wage, that's 26% of the US workforce. An increase would lift these families to greater financial freedoms to purchase better healthcare, education, and livelihood for themselves and their families.
A coalition of Democrat senators spearheaded by Virginian independent, Bernie Sanders, has laid out a solid plan to get America from $7.25 per hour to $15 per hour in a short time. He proposes an increase from $7.25 to $8.55 per hour, and a subsequent increase until it reaches $15. Bernie Sanders argues that this is necessary to keep up with the pace of the rapidly changing economic landscape.
A $15 per hour wage would create an extra $3,000 of income yearly for minimum wage earners which would trickle down into the lives of their families.
If you work a full-time job, you should be earning enough money to live. The current minimum wage standards just don't cut it.
