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Minimum Wage - Blog Posts
Housing is a privilege.
“Fewer than 5 percent of units have the features needed to accommodate a person with moderate mobility difficulties. The percentage of wheelchair-accessible units is even smaller; less than 1 percent of all units are equipped with features that would allow a wheelchair user to live independently.”
Marriage is a privilege.
“The [SSI] monthly maximum Federal amounts for 2023 are $914 for an eligible individual, $1,371 for an eligible individual with an eligible spouse.”
Minimum wage is a privilege.
“Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act authorizes employers, after receiving a certificate from the Wage and Hour Division, to pay special minimum wages — wages less than the Federal minimum wage — to workers who have disabilities for the work being performed.”
We still need to fight for accessibility and equity for all disabled people.
Despite the ADA, equity is still out of reach.
This isn’t right. It’s time to raise the wage.
Sign the petition now.
Paying for College: Then and Now
So baby boomers were born between 1946 and 1964
This means that they entered college between 1964 and 1982
The total average cost to go to Public College including tuition room and board ranged from $950 in 1964 to $2945 in 1982
While they were on college they could count on making at least $1.25 an hour in 1964 to $3.35 an hour in 1982
This means that spending the 18 weeks during summer working full time at minimum wage they would make $900 dollar in 1964 and $2412 in 1982
That means someone going to school 1964 would only have to work 40 hours during the school year to completely pay for all of their expenses.
Someone going to school in 1982 had it a little worse, they had to work for less than 160 hours during the school year to completely cover their expenses.
To put this in perspective in 2006 (the most recent year that the Dept of Edu reports) a public college education cost $11,034
The minimum wage was $5.15 in 2006
That means to pay for school in 2006 at minimum wage you would have to work just over 2142 1/2 hours to pay for school.
Working full time year around, without any time off, is only 2080 hours
Minimum-wage jobs are physically demanding, have unpredictable schedules, and pay so meagerly that workers can't save up enough to move on.
I don't shop at Wal-Mart at all, and I don't shop on "Black Friday"--I'm just not into consumerism and corporatization. I encourage everyone to enjoy a day off work (if you get one) and spend time (on your family, your friends, or yourself) instead of money this Thanksgiving weekend.
I NEVER shop here anyway, but still, you shouldn’t either…
Look at the difference: In 1977 I bought a small house in Portland Oregon for $24,000. At the time I was earning $5 per hour working at a large auto parts store. I owned a 4 year old Chevy Nova that cost $1,500. Now, 36 years later that same job pays $8 an hour, that same house costs $185,000 and a 4 year old Chevy costs $10,000. Wages haven’t kept up with expenses at all. And, I should point out that that $5 an hour job in 1977 was union and included heath benefits.
an anonymous online commenter on the current economy. (via han-nara)