The total spent on all poverty-fighting programs make up less than one percent of the entire U.S. budget.
"A family with one full-time worker earning the minimum wage cannot afford the local fair-market rent for a two-bedroom apartment anywhere in the United States."* *Source: The US Department of Housing and Urban Development [hud.gov]
2 comments:
maybe the minimum wage should be raised more than more government programs?
the Bible says you don't work, you don't eat....
not that i'm not for some kind of assistance for the truly needy....
those who CAN'T work.......
The way I understand it, the minimum wage was never meant to be a living wage, but rather a wage minimum that would prevent exploitation of any worker, whether they are adult, teen or child. We should blush if we have a large sector of our populaton that lacks the skills to earn more than the minimum. It is a startig place, not an ending place. That's why I think there is some merit in having children work at McDonalds, they soon learn why they are in school; so they don't have to flip burgers for a living. The down side to that is that many teens today work part-time jobs and make around $800. a month with absolutely no overhead, and their entire paycheck is disposable income. When in the real working world, they take a huge pay cut in their disposable income. By the time they have graduated H.S. they have created buying habits way beyond their means. But I digress,
suffice to say, we need to encourage people to take advantage of the educational opportunities that abound in this country and not be discourage because they don't earn 15.per hour at Arby's.
Let's encourage more ambition, the world is always looking for a hard-working, honest, educated employee. And the former virtues may be even more important than the latter.
That's my take on it at this point in my life, and I am academically challenged.
Love Dad
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