Minimum Wage

By Mary Ellen Balchunis

If a person is willing to work, he or she should be able to support a family. Women should be paid equally for equal work.

The sad reality is that many people currently work full time jobs, yet still are not able to remain above the poverty line. This is especially true for women, who hold two thirds of minimum wage jobs and on average are paid 77 cents for each dollar a man makes for the same work. In addition, many women are supporting children with only one income.

To me, the idea of the working poor is a contradiction in terms; if a person is willing to work, he or she shouldn't have to be poor. The American dream of being able to succeed through hard work alone is becoming unattainable for far too many. The way to bring back the dream is through a fair wage, and the way to guarantee a fair wage for all Americans is through sensible minimum wage legislation.

There are employers today who fully understand that the wages they pay cannot support a worker and his or her family. There are some of these employers who even encourage their workers to rely on government assistance programs to supplement the salaries, which are clearly inadequate. What these employers are doing is passing along the burden of supporting their workers to the taxpayers, while they reap the profits. This practice has gone on long enough and it is long since time that someone does something about it. The way to combat this is through the implementation of a fair minimum wage. Instituting a minimum wage removes the burden from the taxpayers and places it on the employers who should be paying their workers a living wage in the first place.

I was raised to value hard work, and believe that if someone is willing to work hard, then nothing should stand in the way of them being able to support a family. I will not stand by while those working are not able to support themselves, which is why I will fight tirelessly for a decent minimum wage-- a wage that can bring dignity back to those who believe in the value of hard work.