focus on living wage
Post on 28-Mar-2016
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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
Some families with one source of income find
it difficult to provide basic needs like food,
water, and shelter.
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.
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.
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
The only way not to think
about money is to have a
great deal of it. Edith
Wharton (1862 - 1937)
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 states that
have Minimum Wages higher
than the Federal Mandate:
Montana, Arizona, Colorado,
Michigan, Ohio, Rhode Island,
Maine, New Mexico,
Alaska,
Massachusetts, Vermont,
Connecticut, Illinois,
Nevada, Oregon Washington
D.C., & Washington
State.
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?
What Is a
Living
Wage?
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 Religions: Taoism and Buddhism Access to Clean Water: more than 300 million rural residents lacks clean water Literacy Rate: 85.2% Doctor Patient Ratio: 1.51 Population Living on Less $2/Day: 47% or Approx. 611,000,000 people
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:
1.5 billion
Source: Government of China
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?
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
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
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.”
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 does the high living wage affect you?
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/
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