Slide 11 of 26

The need for a Living Wage

Even though the US economy is booming and the country remains at full employment, substantial segments of our population have difficulty in earning a living wage. Cooperatives in the US believe that a living wage is about the opportunity for self-help. It is about ways that families and communities can gain power and voice and make ends meet in an increasingly competitive global economy. A living wage must meet the cost of living. But, the gap between the federal minimum wage set by the government and the cost of living is large. In the United States, the basic cost of living for a family of three is well over $20,000, yet the minimum wage generates only $10,300 annually. Even though millions of people are employed at the minimum wage, they are not earning a living wage.

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