Why is the living wage so high, but the minimum wage so low?
How are we supposed to provide for our families if the minimum wage is less than the living wage? “No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country.” -Franklin D. Roosevelt What is the issue? The problem so many people around the world are facing is that they cannot provide their family with basic needs because they are not earning enough money at work to meet the living wage. The living wage is a wage that is high enough to maintain a normal standard of living. Regardless of whether someone is working full-time at 40 hours per week or full-time at 60 hours per week, some people still find it hard to get by with basic needs. The culprit behind this issue is a lack of or low minimum wage. In order to increase profit, some corporations decrease the pay of the workers. That is why so many companies, such as Wal-Mart, outsource jobs to foreign countries because some countries do not have laws protecting the country’s work force.
Some families with one source of income find it difficult to provide basic needs like food, water, and shelter.
Causes Lack of Educational Opportunities Minimum Wage Is Not As High As the Living Wage Excessively High Expenses Rapidly Increasing Inflation Job Salaries Not Increasing At the Same Rate As Inflation Hyperinflation High Unemployment Rates
DID YOU KNOW? Though the earnings differential between college and high school graduates varies over time, college graduates, on average, earn more than high school graduates. According to the Census Bureau, over an adult's working life, high school graduates earn an average of $1.2 million; associate's degree holders earn about $1.6 million; and bachelor's degree holders earn about $2.1 million.
What Is a Living Wage? A Living Wage is NOT the Minimum Wage, but it is what is required to be able to make a living for the month. A lot of people are working for Minimum wage, and they are not making it to the next month. SO it is not about what we are paying to be fair, it is about what we are paying so that families do not have to choose between utilities and groceries, water and heat, one necessity for another.
DID YOU KNOW?
Over 140 living wage ordinances are in place around the United States, and the United Kingdom is actively working towards one. A Family of Four in Vermont needs to make $19.82 in order to be above Living Wage. (University of Vermont) These are of the have Minimum than the Federal Montana, Arizona, Michigan, Ohio, Maine, New Alaska, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Nevada, Oregon D.C., & State.
The only way not to think about money is to have a great deal of it. Edith Wharton (1862 - 1937)
states that Wages higher Mandate: Colorado, Rhode Island, Mexico, Vermont, Illinois, Washington Washington
Country Information: Location: Eastern Asia, Between North Korea and Vietnam Capital: Beijing Population: Over 1.3 billion Size: 3,696,000 square miles Language: Standard Mandarin Child Mortality Rate: 33 per 1,000 Life Expectancy: 73 years old
Why do a lot of countries, which get highly regarded as a top country, always have major problems within their layers of success? China suffered through clashes with European powers in the 1800s. Then, in 1911, Chinese revolutionaries overthrew the last dynasty. The country suffered internal strife for nearly four decades due to warlords, civil war and Japanese invasion CURRENT POPULATION OF CHINA:
1.3 billion POPULATION IF CHINA HAD NOT INSTITUTED ONE-CHILD POLICY IN 1978:
Religions: Taoism and Buddhism
1.5 billion
Access to Clean Water: more than 300 million rural residents lacks clean water Literacy Rate: 85.2%
Source: Government of China
Doctor Patient Ratio: 1.51 Population Living on Less $2/Day: 47% or Approx. 611,000,000 people
China's explosive growth has come at a price. The economic gains have not been shared equally. Millions have become richer. But hundreds of millions have not. More than 60 per cent of the population still toils in agriculture; the country's "economic miracle" has yet to make an appearance in much of the country. Corruption also remains well entrenched.
Did you know? China’s minimum wage is lower than 32 African countries. Their annual wage is less than 15% of the world average. The lowest average income in china is $896 US dollars.
Do you know what China’s living wage is like now?
Solutions to China’s living wage: taking up respective responsibilities and obligations while boosting collaboration mobilizing resources for the elimination of poverty foster a favorable international environment for poverty reduction
The book (above) Chinese Girl in the Ghetto. It tells a story about a young Chinese girl trying to make it in the United States after moving from China to California. The parents work in menial jobs, at first earning less than minimum wage. Their two children wear clothing purchased from Goodwill or handed down from their relatives. The family uses second-hand furniture and at first, each of the children sleeps on half of a bed—one on the mattress and the other on the box springs. -Ying Ma
Current Facts about China’s Wages: The average wage in urban areas in 2006 was 1,750 yuan a month, four times higher than the figure for 1995. In 2006, the average wage of those employed in primary industries was only 786 yuan. In 2006, the annual per capita disposable income of urban households was 11,759 yuan compared with only 3,587 yuan in rural households. According to a National Bureau of Statistics survey: “The average monthly wage of migrant workers [in the Pearl River Delta] is only 600-700 yuan. Based on the local cost of living, such an income is only enough to buy four bowls of noodles a day.”
How does the high living wage affect you? Case Study In the town of Des Moines, Iowa, Glenwood residents find themselves with one of the highest population of disabled American in the country. Employers of some of the disabled take advantage of their situation by paying less than subminimum wage. According to the Iowa Department of Human Services, which runs the Woodward and Glenwood centers, 314 residents of the two facilities are paid less than the Iowa minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. At Glenwood, there are 173 residents being paid subminimum wages, and the workers collect an average of $3.31 an hour. One resident is paid an average of 11 cents an hour, and there are 18 workers averaging less than 40 cents an hour. The disabled Glenwood residents assist with food service, custodial work, laundry, delivery services and recycling.
What should the government be doing? Governments need to ensure that fundamental rights, including the right of freedom of association and collective bargaining, can be effectively exercised and that labor standards are upheld. And governments urgently need to ensure there are regular increases in the minimum wage and ensure that the minimum wage represents a living wage.
As of July 24, 2009, the federal minimum wage in the United States is $7.25 per hour. Some states and municipalities have set minimum wages higher than the federal level, with the highest state minimum wage being $8.67 in Washington. This usually works out to be $3 to $7 above the federal minimum wage.
How can anyone make a living when minimum wage is below the living wage? Take a stand for universal living wage. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON LIVING WAGE AND HOW YOU CAN HELP THE CAUSE, VISIT THE FOLLOWING WEBSITES. MAKE YOUR VOICE FOR UNIVERSAL LIVING WAGE HEARD TODAY! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_wage http://www.livingwage.geog.psu.edu/ http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/local/article/830034--poverty-group-urges-action-on-living-wage http://www.povertyontrial.org http://universallivingwage.org/ http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2011/apr/14/living-wage-moves-ahead/