The current federal minimum wage has remained at $7.25 per hour for the last 12 years. | File
The current federal minimum wage has remained at $7.25 per hour for the last 12 years. | File
An economic perfect storm consisting of starvation wages, inflation and unemployment is threatening the American way of life, as working class minimum wage workers struggle to find housing they can afford, Democrat lawmakers say.
Meanwhile, small businesses are left trying to figure out how to raise wages to compete with COVID-19 era unemployment benefits.
To commemorate the 12-year anniversary of the last federal minimum wage hike on July 24, 2009, from $6.55 to $7.25 per hour, the Congressional Progressive Caucus tweeted, "In 2021, we can't be content with anyone making starvation wages. $15 an hour is the floor. Raise the wage."
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) tweeted her support for the #RaiseTheWage hashtag, by pointing out inflation rates have skyrocketed 26.6% since the last federal wage increase and U.S. Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) pointed out no one can live on the current federal minimum wage.
"We ought to build an economy that respects and rewards the dignity of work. #RaiseTheWage," Clyburn tweeted.
Not everyone is onboard with increasing wages as high as $15 an hour, citing concerns this increase will hurt small businesses that can not afford to increase worker salaries.
In South Carolina, a minimum wage worker makes up to $290 per week, but if that worker lost their job and had to go on unemployment, they would receive unemployment benefits ranging from $642 to $926 per week, according to an internet calculator, leaving some lawmakers like Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) concerned about the nation's economic recovery.
"We shouldn’t be incentivizing people not to work," Norman tweeted. "Democrats' policies are making it difficult for businesses to find employees."
The National Low Income Housing Coalition released a report that says a minimum wage worker that works 40 hours per week can not afford a two-bedroom apartment in any state in the country, and can only afford a one-bedroom apartment in 7% of all U.S. counties.
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