Minimum wage has been a long running topic of dispute for years in the US. Bills both state and federal have come in an attempt to remedy the issues regarding it, but unfortunately most never see the light of day. In Pennsylvania, the struggle has been ongoing since 2007, with bill after bill being blocked from making it to the governor's desk. But the supporters of a higher minimum wage certainly have not yet given up the fight.
In 2015, State representative Patty Kim, D-Dauphin, made announced her reintroduction of her legislation proposal, House Bill 250, to increase the Pennsylvania minimum wage to $10.10 over a two year period. The plan would first increase the minimum wage to $9 and 180 days after the plan is passed and then to $10.10 after a year.
On the current wage Pennsylvania pays out, the average person working a 40 hour work week makes about $15,080 annually. For a household of three, this is more then $4,000 below the poverty line of $19,790. If we were to add in two weeks unpaid vacation, that number would decrease to $14,500, more than $5,000 below the poverty line. Many of these households require assistance from government programs to make ends meet.
Should H.B 250 be passed, raising the minimum wage to $10.10 would make a 40 hour work week worth $21,008, just over $1,000 above the poverty line for a house of three. It is a small but reasonable stepping stone to the $15 desires of the middle-lower class constituents. PA Governor Tom Wolf has openly stated that he fully supports Kim's plan. President Obama is also a major support figure in this drive to increase minimum wage.
In short, the minimum wage increase advocacy is not short of supporters. They simply need more supporters in Congress to pass legislation, which will be difficult in a majority Republican Congress. The struggle continues.
That is all for this post. Look out for the next one soon. D. Politopolous out.
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