A map of US wages that suggests most Americans live in some sort of indentured servitude has gone viral.
Thankfully, the claim is easily debunked:
If that sounds bogus, it’s because it is.Here’s why:
- Very few people who earn the minimum wage are living on that wage alone; a majority are working part-time, and live with a working spouse or in a family with an income far above the poverty line.
- Those who do earn just the minimum have access to additional income via policies like the Earned Income Tax Credit. (That’s especially the case for a family that would need the two-bedroom apartment misleadingly used as a benchmark in the chart above).
….Turns out, most people who earn the minimum wage aren’t living in poverty. In New York, for instance, the average family income of a person who would benefit from a hike in the state minimum wage is over $53,000 a year. Sixty percent are either living with family (e.g. a teen at home with their parents), or are second earners whose spouse also works.By contrast, just over eight percent are single parents supporting children—families that qualify for up to about $7,500 in additional income from the tax credit mentioned above. They’re also eligible for a variety of other public programs.Well-meaning attempts to help a small group of people by raising the minimum wage to $25 an hour (the amount needed to match the two-bedroom rental cost) would do nothing more than put a lot employers out of business—and put a lot of their employees out of a job.
That’s without broaching the impact of minimum wage on youth employment, hiring practices, and the like.
Labor laws have found a way to morph and destroy major facets of American industry — “infographics” like this one tap into the weaknesses of democracy, much like the Kony ad from earlier this year.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY
