Seattle to Raise Minimum Wage to $15

Seattle Sets Country's Highest Minimum Wage

Seattle mayor Ed Murray announced a plan Thursday to increase the minimum wage in Seattle to at least $15 per hour. The wage increase would be gradual, but all employees would be paid at least $15 per hour by 2021; large businesses would be required to pay $15 per hour by 2017. Once all employees reach a wage of $15 per hour, the minimum wage will rise at the rate of inflation.

Lifting Workers Out of Poverty

The federal poverty level for a family of four in the United States is $23,850 and $11,670 for an individual. At the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, full time employees make around $15,000 per year, which is below the poverty line for the aveage four person household. Seattle's new wage will pay minimum wage employees approximately $30,000 per year, which is enough to keep a family out of poverty. This is huge.

 

Low-wage earners across America are often disheartened by the fact that despite their efforts they cannot afford basic necessities. $15 per hour is much more reasonable than $7.25 and should empower workers in Seattle to live decent lives.

 

Poverty in America

The Sad Truth About American Poverty

Depending on who you are and where you are from, you may think that Americans are either extremely rich or extremely poor. Many Americans truly do fit on one of these extreme ends of the spectrum. The middle class has been shrinking for decades and it is easy to assume that we are a society that is divided by social class. The sad truth is that we are so divided that most of us cannot even notice.

What I mean is that rich and poor Americans live in completely different worlds that often do not overlap at all. The wealthy people of this country live in certain towns, shop at specific stores and may not interact with people who are struggling financially on a day to day basis. Let me show you.

These two images show one of the saddest realities about life in America. The color of each dot represents the average wealth distribution of a particular area. Notice clusters of extreme wealth in the Northeast corridor, particularly between Boston and Washington D.C., and in California. Also pay attention to just how dark most of the rest of the country is. This is what I mean. 

Let's zoom in.

This is the world that I grew up in. For most of my life I never left the area of this map. I thought I knew how the world worked; my childhood was surrounded by affluence. I thought that three car garages, granite countertops, private schools and expensive clothes were average. It was rare that I interacted with someone who came from a different world. Nearly my entire region belonged to the wealthiest 5% of society, but I had no idea.

Imagine what it might be like living here instead.

In fact, it is much more likely to come from a place like this than from where I did. Dark shades of impoverished blue cover the majority of the country. Living here, it may be possible to think that wealth is made up and that average means government assistance, living paycheck to paycheck and wondering if you and your family will have enough to eat. 

Bridging the Gap

We truly are more divided as a country than many of us even know. We are so segregated by class that it is really difficult to see those who are not like us, even when we are paying attention. Our perceptions of our country are so skewed. Perhaps the best thing for all of us would be if these colors were spread more evenly around the map. We could all learn so much from increased exposure to those who are the most different from us.