Post date: Apr 19, 2015 2:10:41 PM
Is all work in service for others honorable? If so, then people should earn a wage that puts them above the poverty line - reasonably above the need for direct government assistance - for their labor.
A single person who works for 2000 hours a year (50 weeks x 40 hours per week) and earns the federal minimum wage of $7.25 will take home $14,500 before taxes. After taxes, the pay could be $1,000 per month or less, $12,000 per year. Rent will cost $8,652 per year in the cheapest state, Arkansas. Gross income minus rent leaves $3,348 per year, or $279 per month for all food, transportation, medical, and incidental costs.
That sounds impossible to me in these United States. There is no way for a person to have low-pain / high-quality life on $279 per month.
The worst part of having $279 per month for all non-rent expenses would be that it would leave negative money for improving one's lot in life. If a person would strive for a better education, then it could not be attained without money. If a person wants to improve on their transportation options (e.g. buy a car), then there would be no money for that. If a person wanted to interview for a better job, then taking time off from the minimum wage job, buying clothes for the interview, and finding transportation to the interview are all expenses that would be difficult (nearly impossible) to manage while earning minimum wage.
The system should be changed such that All work is honorable. In the current system, direct government assistance is the only way that people who work hard to earn minimum wage can have a chance to get ahead in life. Raise the minimum wage. The minimum wage should be set such that a people who are raising a child without support of a second parent can pay the bills and have enough money left to improve their lot in life. If there will be more than lip service to "giving a hand up instead of hand out", then wages will have to be raised.