Increasing Minimum Wage for Impoverished Families

Minimum wage is huge factor to why poverty rates nationally are high and will stay high for a longer period. This has led to a national crisis of people losing their homes even though they might be working three jobs at a time. In fact, Florida has 2.8 million people that live in poverty as of a 2017 census. Therefore, a family of four living off about twenty-four thousand dollars annually.

Having constant raises in markets such as housing and healthcare are not helping these poverty rates either. Furthermore, the poverty rates increased for single living mothers in 2017 and black people are more likely to be more impoverished then a white family. There’s a lot of factors wrong with this. This includes living off 8.46 an hour, even when you’re working 40 hours a week, that’s still not enough to pay for a family. Calculating the minimum wage of Florida right now and multiply that by forty, the number only comes out to three hundred and thirty dollars. Moreover, that said person is getting paid every two weeks which equals out to six hundred and sixty dollars before tax. So now rent is due and that comes out to be an average of seven hundred and nineteen dollars for a 651 sq ft. apartment in Florida, seems like a very small space for someone who works forty hours a week and possibly has kids.

The push needs to be on the state congress and showing them numbers of what type of poverty their state is in. Thus, being around 15.2 percent, which is high, considering we have 2.1 million people living in Florida. That’s around three hundred and twenty thousand people that are suffering because of these low wages. There are a group of people right now that are fighting to put the amendment on the ballot of 2020 to raise minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour. The idea of that is great but I personally think it may be too high of a number for them to look at. So, why not have just a two dollar decrease from that?

When looking at a minimum wage of thirteen dollars, we can average that one person working forty hours, will make one thousand and forty dollars per month before taxes. So, around 26 thousand dollars annually. This is a one thousand dollar increase for that four-person family I was talking about earlier. Therefore, they have one thousand dollars to either pay bills or buy groceries or etc. Putting a number like this in the supreme courts face I believe is reasonable enough. This could mean that, in time, that family could potentially get out of poverty by just having that one-thousand dollar bonus. For those who don’t have a proper education and still work forty hours with a wage of eight dollars and forty-six cents, will now be able to at least save some money for an emergency or even a small vacation.

Additionally, this ongoing epidemic of impoverished family’s needs to be addressed correctly towards the state government. Sure, protesting is great and all, but I personally believe it would be helpful to crunch numbers in front of their face. Showing them a chart of percentages of families that live in poverty and how much money they are making with low minimum wage. Then adding on the living cost too. Such as, food, healthcare, education, and necessities for a human to live in a healthy state of mind. This graph would consist of how much money the company makes each year comparing it to how much the employee makes. Let’s take Publix for instance, they are a billion-dollar corporation that even funded the campaign for the United States president. However, they are by no means, even considering, helping raise minimum wage in Florida. This is also an organization that started in Florida and they pay their employees as low as eight dollars and forty cents.

Bringing attention to this crisis needs to be repeated and heard in the state congress. We haven’t seen a raise in minimum wage in ten years. That’s a long time to not do anything about wages in the state of Florida. As of late, the mayor of Orlando, has created the Florida Fair Wage Act, which got almost three hundred thousand signatures alone. This has been put in front of the state supreme court to be put on the ballot. Although, it may not pass it does state that wages go up to ten dollars an hour and is raised by a dollar every year till 2026. This is also something! can support and would be willing to try passing a policy along these lines but maybe starting at nine dollars an hour and raise it by two dollars every other year till 2024. Therefore, the minimum wage will cap out at 13 dollars.

In conclusion, raising minimum wage needs to happen in Florida. Since the cost of living outweighs the amount of money people make whether it’s a family or not; also, potentially getting people out of poverty. Giving them sources to live a more fulfilled life with less stress about financial crutches.

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