Low Wage Worker

Most Americans believe that poor and homeless people are all workers who can only survive by government aid. We learned from Barbara Ehrenreich's article by Nickel-and-Dimed that this is not true. In this article, Barbara directly experiences the life of low-wage American workers who are growing first. These low-wage jobs range from a minimum wage of 5.15 dollars to a reputable $ 10 salary. With this salary, people may not seem to be important, but factors such as housing, food, child care, transportation, etc. may be reduced to poverty.

Low wage workers and low income families are often not the same person. David Neumark, an economist and professor at the University of California, Irvine, states that there is a "weak" correlation between low-wage workers and low-income households for three reasons. "First of all, 57% of poor families between the ages of 18 and 64 have no workers," he wrote in the Federal Reserve's economic report on 28th December 2015. "Secondly, there are some workers who are not poor people because of short working hours rather than low wages.3 Third, many low-wage workers such as youth are not in poor families."

The family of four is average. Indeed, people in the low income group have a more complex family and family network. Recent immigrant low wage workers send money to foreign families, many of which are helping partners, other relatives, three or more children and elderly parents. Some people do not have a family who lives alone. Some people single mothers or fathers, or teenagers contribute to family income. Therefore, the rule of a four-person family is the intersection of different family networks for the income of low-paying workers. Please note that it assumes that both parents are working for living wages.

The strong minimum wage now has not only low wage workers but also companies and the economy as a whole. For the affected low-wage workers and their families, the benefit of raising the minimum wage is important. In the face of greater economic trends they increased wages for these workers and these economic trends stagnated and lowered the wages at the bottom of our economy. These measures have also been shown to reduce economic difficulties, free workers from poverty and improve other living outcomes. Increased consumer spending due to wage rises can increase demand for goods and services, continue to spend money throughout the economy, and create a virtuous circle favoring workers, businesses and the economy.