Huffington Post featured a report by the New America Foundation that shows the minimum wage went nowhere as worker productivity skyrocketed:
This means workers did much, much more for so much less.
The brief, 44-page report is an excellent analysis of the problems workers currently face in the U.S. — and provides eminently reasonable solutions that of course won't be enacted because of the lack of political will by the policymakers who serve the plutocracy.
Political cynicism aside, the report shows clearly and concisely how the system is designed to keep people in poverty, whether through lack of a living wage, or a broken Unemployment Insurance system, which doesn't pay enough for people to live on while they look for another scarce and low-paying job.
Read the report. It's easily understandable and you will learn a lot quickly.
And speaking of living wages, a study done by the state of New York revealed that raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25/hr to $9/hr would be far from a living wage in New York. And everywhere else, of course.
As you already know from my book and previous blog posts:
"The federal minimum wage hasn't increased since 2009. According to a 2012 study from the Center for Economic and Policy Research, the minimum wage would actually be $21.72 an hour if it kept pace with increases in worker productivity.
The same CEPR study found that if the minimum wage kept up with inflation since it peaked in real value in 1968, it would now be $10.52 per hour."So stagnant wages, increased cost of living, lack of health care benefits, and slashed and shredded social safety net programs all conspire to keep the poor, well, poor. Or poorer. It's why people are forced to live in their cars, and why things will get worse before they get better because the politicians won't do a damn thing about any of it. Even though, as the New America Report shows, the solutions are simple, economically feasible, and proven (in other countries).
As depressing as it is, keep the faith and continue working toward change. The broken system has taken more than 30 years to rot, and it won't be overhauled and replaced in a day. But the more you educate yourself on the issues and policy changes needed, the more you can inform others— particularly your legislative leaders. Remember: An avalanche always begins with a single snowflake...
