Six Things You Didn’t Know About The Minimum Wage
This week and next, a coalition of minimum wage activists in favor of raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 are taking their message of “Giving America a Raise” on the road with an 11 state bus tour. They have already made stops in Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut and New York. This issue couldn’t be more important for working families across the country and creating an economy that works for everyone.
Right now, a parent working full time earning the minimum wage and raising two children is making poverty wages. She struggles to make ends meet and can barely afford basics such as school supplies for her children. But with a higher minimum wage, workers will have more money to spend on basic needs, money that will go back into the local economy, which in turn gives businesses more customers—helping them to hire more workers. Raising low-end wages will also save taxpayers $4.6 billion a year on nutritional assistance programs.
Raising the minimum wage would be a critical step in ensuring that the economy is working for everyone. It will provide Americans who work hard a better opportunity to get ahead while giving the economy a needed shot in the arm. It is past time for Congress to act. The federal minimum wage has not been raised in more than five years. Right here are six facts explaining why Congress needs to raise the wage to $10.10 an hour: