(MintPress) – According to a recent report published by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank, 40 percent of Americans make less than the 1968 minimum wage.
As Washington considers increasing the minimum wage from a paltry $7.25 to $9 per hour, millions will still be living in poverty unable to support their families should Congress greenlight the proposed Obama increases. Even with these proposed increases, the national minimum wage would be far less than the minimum wage in 1968, based upon the purchasing power of the dollar and the cost of goods.
“Even this measure would put many individuals below the poverty level. What’s being proposed isn’t enough,” said Professor David Schultz, a nationally-recognized expert on government, nonprofit and business ethics in a statement to Mint Press News.
According to a poll conducted by USA Today and the Pew Research Center, 71 percent of Americans support President Obama’s plan to increase the minimum wage. This would be an important gain for low-wage workers, but still woefully insufficient given the present rising cost of living.
If Washington raised the minimum wage to keep up with the cost of living and inflation, low-wage workers would receive $16.50 per hour in 2013 dollars. Opposing the minimum wage rise has become a primarily target for Republican lawmakers.
“The Republican opposition has been pretty significant as has the business community’s opposition. For years they have played this myth that increasing the minimum wage will lead to layoffs and higher unemployment,” said Schultz.
The erosion of employer benefits has exacerbated the problem when companies cut health care and overtime hours. Many workers at large employers who work full time still are forced to use food stamps and other public programs to make ends meet.
At Wal-Mart, 80 percent of employees rely on publicly-funded programs, costing taxpayers $2.66 billion annually.
“Not only are the workers having to use food stamps, they have to get publicly paid for health care when they have to go to emergency rooms. The public has to pick up the tab. If businesses were required to pay a living wage and reasonable benefits, there would be less that the public would have to pay,” Schultz said.