John,
Right now, Republican governors in states across the country are stopping payments of the increased federal unemployment benefits because they claim that these unemployment benefits discourage millions of Americans from looking for jobs.
In Iowa, Republican Governor Kim Reynolds: “...now that our businesses and schools have reopened, these payments are discouraging people from returning to work."
In Missouri, Republican Governor Mike Parson: "It's time that we end these programs that have ultimately incentivized people to stay out of the workforce."
In South Carolina, Republican Governor Henry McMaster: "This labor shortage is being created in large part by the supplemental unemployment payments that the federal government provides claimants on top of their state unemployment benefits."
What these Republican governors refuse to accept is that people don't stay home because unemployment benefits are so great. They stay home because the federal minimum wage has not been raised in over a decade and at $7.25 per hour even a 40-hour workweek isn't enough to stay out of poverty.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and President Joe Biden all support the Raise the Wage Act, legislation that would increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour, but some Democrats in Congress still need pressure to get them on board. Join DFA as we build the grassroots pressure and fight to make Democrats pass a living wage.
The numbers speak for themselves, a worker that makes the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, works 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, only has an annual income of $15,080.
Yet, raising the federal minimum wage to just $15 an hour would lift the wages of tens of millions of working people, create over $100 billion in additional income for families that need it most, including more than 20 million women, 5 million single parents, and 1.3 million children.
If all 27 Republican governors end unemployment benefits before they expire in September, over 4 million workers will lose a vital source of income that helps keep a roof over their head and food on the table.
On ABC’s This Week, DFA’s CEO Yvette Simpson pointed out that the problem isn't Americans receiving unemployment benefits, which in many states is well below the poverty line, it's businesses not paying a living wage.
Check the clip out and join us as we fight to make Democratic Leadership pass a living wage.
Thanks for taking action to raise wages for working families.
— Tre
Tre Graves
Campaign Organizer
Democracy for America
