Fight for Fifteen

THE FIGHT FOR FIFTEEN

THE FIGHT FOR FIFTEEN

The Economic Policy Institute estimates that increasing the minimum wage would impact 32 million workers – that is almost 20% of all Americans. Now keep in mind that the last time we saw an increase in the federal minimum wage was in July of 2009. More than 11 years without an increase. In that same time period, we saw the cost of living, driven largely by housing and health care cost increases, go up 20%. This is not a sustainable situation. The massive disparity between the current minimum wage and the cost of living is stark. To note, there is not a single state in the country where the current minimum wage affords the ability to rent a two-bedroom home. Not one state.