$290.
That’s how much money a person making minimum wage in our country has earned after a 40 hour week.
Friends, this is not a living wage. This is not enough to sustain the cost of food, childcare, medical bills, car repairs, or any other everyday expense.
While the economy is working well for some in the United States, right now we have working people holding down two or three jobs just to keep a roof over their heads and provide for their families. People are working harder than ever before, but they have less to show for it.
In the wealthiest country in the world, this is unacceptable. It’s time for Congress to raise the minimum wage so families across the country aren’t breaking their backs to stay afloat.
That’s why I recently joined my colleagues in the House to support a gradual raise to our federal minimum wage -- legislation that would result in millions of Americans seeing their paychecks go up.
But I need to be clear that raising the minimum wage is not a blanket fix.
Lifting working families will require reforms in other areas of business and government -- from improving workers’ rights, to decreasing the cost of health care and prescription drugs, to investing in job growth and infrastructure.
The months that lie ahead of us might be tougher than anything we’ve faced before. But I won’t give up on working families and I know you won’t either.
Let's keep working,
Lori
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