Kerry Calls for $7.00 Federal Minimum Wage [View All]

http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2004_0618.html

As part of his plan to build a stronger economy for America’s families, Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry today called for raising the minimum wage to $7.00 by 2007. The increase will impact nearly 15 million workers, helping families make ends meet and move another step towards the American Dream.

An increase in the federal minimum wage is well overdue. It has fallen further and further behind the cost of living, and the impact of the last increase has been entirely eroded by inflation. Today, the minimum wage is worth only 33 percent of the average American wage, its lowest level since 1949. In very real terms, this only serves to keep many hardworking Americans from getting ahead and saving for the future.

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Contrary to the claims of critics who say a minimum wage increase only helps teenagers, today’s report notes that many minimum wage workers are primary breadwinners whose families depend on their income. Of the women who would benefit from an increase, over 75 percent are adults.

Striving to do the right thing and help their families, millions of working women and mothers are struggling from the effects of a federal minimum wage that has not been increased in eight years. Increasing the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.00 will help these working women by:

* Raising the income of 4.5 million working women

* Giving 1.4 million working mothers a raise, including 623,000 single moms.

* Providing a family enough money to pay for 10 months of groceries, 8 months of rent or an entire year of healthcare and community college expenses.

Overall, 15 million workers will benefit from an increase, with 7.4 million receiving a raise.

“I want to build an America where working families can get ahead, where a family working full time does not have to raise their children in poverty,” Kerry said. “With this increase, we will lift up millions of workers and build a stronger America as a result.”