Poverty, Minimum Wage
With the poverty line established at fifty percent of median, USA leads with 17 percent of her population compared to 14.3 percent in Australia and 5.4 percent in Finland (Kahn and Leslie 10). However, congress remains reluctant on increasing the minimum wage within USA. The true minimum wage has been on a constant decline as from late 1960s. Since its initiation in the year 1938, the period between1997-2006 is the longest duration with no adjustment within the federal level; ($5.15/hour (Neumark and William 7).
There is notion that only youths make minimum wage. Nonetheless, 59.8% of all salary and wage workers are compensated on an hourly wage (Neumark and William 5). Of minimum wage employees, eight in ten are twenty five years or older. Only seven percent are youths aged 16-19 years. Of the 4 census areas, red states leads in minimum wage employees (Neumark and William 4).
Influential political leaders appear, through their rhetoric, to trust that class war is an excellent re-election gambit (Neumark and William 2). Rod Paige, US education secretary categorized them a terrorist organization (Kahn and Leslie 11). Tom DeLay, R-Texas, ex-house majority leader, refer to them as a clear and current threat to the security of US. Charles Norwood, R-Ga, US Representative argued they use tyranny that US citizens are fighting to defeat in Afghanistan and Iraq and are, therefore, enemies of democracy and freedom. This is an indication of the need for the second amendment or change to defend citizens with firearms.
Who are the believed dangers to US? No, not Osama followers, but labor unions composed of millions of employees; janitors, firefighters, police officers, and teachers. Bashing well structured labor is pathology of Republican, to the state where labor unions are referenced with terminologies reserved or set aside for military targets (Kahn and Leslie 12).
Despite the conventional wisdom that citizen are independent, individualistic, US citizens avoid unions on principle. Studies suggest otherwise; a countrywide survey established that 53% of nonunion employees want to join a labor union, if offered the chance (Neumark and William 2).
Works Cited
Kahn, Joan R., and Leslie A. Whittington. "The labor supply of Latinas in the USA: Comparing labor force participation, wages, and hours worked with Anglo and Black women." Population Research and Policy Review 2.1 (2012): 10-12. Print.
Neumark, David, and William L. Wascher. Minimum Wages. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 2008. Print.
