The Case for $15 Minimum Wage

English: US Census map of poverty across US (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Don’t you agree that anyone who is working 40 hours a week or more should not be living in poverty and relying on food pantries to feed their family?

I didn’t used to think that it should be raised to $15, but now I see. 

Minimum wage here is 8.75. Times 40 hours is 350.00. Times 4 weeks is 1400.00. After taxes, that will be around $1050.00.

Then there is mandatory Obamacare. That has to come before housing and food. I guess if you have to live on the street, at least you’ll be insured..

Around here, it is pretty hard to find rent under $900, except in the very worst areas where you are not even safe sitting in your own living room On the bright side, if you get shot or hit in the head by a brick while sitting in your living room, at least now you have insurance.

Now take another $150.00 for utilities.

There is no money left for food, phone, internet, TV, clothes …

The sad thing is that more and more people are falling into this impossible pit.

And for business and the economy to grow, people have to be able to buy your stuff. I’ve said this for years with the stupid trade agreements. Ship all the jobs out, import everything – whose going to be able to buy it? Where are you going to make money?

At least in the 1990s, people could choose to buiy cheaper items. Now they have to.

In order to have a healthy economy, money has to flow.

Maybe flipping burgers is not worth $15. But a junk car is not worth $2000. Cable TV is not worth $80 or so a month. A one bedroom apartment is not worth $800 a month. But that is what it costs none-the-less.

And don’t even get me started on health care. A blood test costs $3000? A ride in an abulance is $2500? Oh, and the people without insurance get charged the most – by A LOT! That system is totally broken.

$15 an hour will at least cover basic living expenses. It won’t give you much left over, but at least you can feel like a human being. And the taxpayers won’t have to subsidize the difference.

And we’ve all heard the stories about people like the Walton family who have mansions and planes and yaghts while their employees need assistance to live. There is something wrong with that, don’t you think?

I didn’t agree with it before, but now I’m convinced it is what needs to be done.