A basic moral principle that most Americans agree on is no one who works full time should be in poverty, nor should their family.
Yet over time we’ve seen significant growth in the “working poor” — people working full time, sometimes even 60 or more hours each week, but at such low wages that they remain impoverished.
What to do?
One step is to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. This is winnable. A powerful movement is fighting for $15 an hour and they’re winning new laws in cities and states, and forcing companies to raise wages.
If the minimum wage in 1968 had simply kept up with inflation it would be more than $10 today. If it also kept up with the added productivity of American workers since then, it would be more than $21 an hour.
Some opponents say minimum wage workers are teenagers seeking some extra pocket money.