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Colton Lee
Ms. Monica Rowe
English 1010, Period 2-B
24 April 2016
Minimum Wage as a Living Wage
Get a job! Youre not working hard enough! I betcha want life to be free as well dont
you? This is the rhetoric that is usually followed-up when the controversy of raising the
minimum wage is brought up. Minimum wage workers are criticized for wanting more from
their employers after working longer hours and that they should be perfectly fine with what they
are being paid right now. In the past decade the standards of living have steadily increased, while
the minimum wage has seen little to no change, the minimum wage should be a living wage that
works for everyone not just specific groups of people.
In the state of Utah, the minimum amount a worker could be paid is $7.25 per hour, this
wage has not changed since 2009, when the Obama administration took office (United States
Department of Labour. While some might say that $7.25 an hour is plenty enough for anyone to
live off of and that most people could live fine with proper budgeting and careful spending, and
that there is no need to raise the minimum wage any more than necessary. If this statement were
true, it would be a key argument as to why raising the minimum wage is completely unnecessary.
However, this statement could not be farther from the truth. In a report done by Amy K.
Glasmeier, Ph.D., professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she calculates that a
living wage would have to be closer to $10.71 per hour, nearly a 67% increase from what the
minimum wage is in Utah (Glasmeier). This includes all expenses of medical, food, rent and
other needs for basic living, nothing more and nothing less. The minimum wage in Utah is

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extremely low, the minimum on a federal level in fact, this might be unbearable to some to
imagine, but it should even be more so for those who know that the living wage is more than
three dollars off. In a career year, this disparity between wages is enormous enough that it could
even be the difference between life and death. The minimum wage needs to be a living wage for
Utahns and Americans alike, it is unacceptable to believe that a person could work over 40-50
hours and still not have enough to make ends meet.
Not only does the state of Utah have the bare bones of a minimum wage, Utah also has an
astonishing high level of wage disparity among national rankings The shocking truth is that Utah
holds 2nd place in wage gap disparity between males and females. An average woman worker in
a career year will make $16,586 less than a male worker. Utah is only $200 off from replacing
Louisiana placeholder in wage-gap disparity, $16,796 compared to $16,586. This means with
Utahs wide wage gap, woman in Utah are earning 67 cents for every dollar compared to a male
worker. This is not only an embarrassment to think that women could be paid so low compared
what a male worker would make, but it is simply unacceptable. In a modern society, people
should be free from all discriminations, regardless of your race or gender.The wage gap is largely
contributed to the low minimum wage aforementioned as well as gender discrimination in the
workplace. This wage disparity is reported to not disappear until 2102, over the course of 86
years; and unless there were to be change in minimum wages and workplace discrimination, it
will stay on that course for the full 86 years (Davidson).
Many opponents to raising the minimum wage can almost always be quoted as saying
that raising the minimum wage would cause corporations to turn down employment levels and
lay off workers in order to maintain profits. Essentially what they are arguing is that raising the
minimum wage would raise unemployment. Logically it would make sense for a business to do

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what is within its best interests, but however this has proven to be not the case. John T. Harvey is
a professor teaching economics at Texas Christian University, and Harvey disagrees with the
notion that minimum wage increases would have any effects of increasing or decreasing
unemployment levels. Harvey cites a report done by John Schmitt of the Center of Economic and
Policy Research, after analysis of the report Harvey states, The weight of that evidence points to
little or no employment response to modest increases in the minimum wage. Based on statistical
analysis of various data tests and data sampling since the 1990s, the correlation between
minimum wage changes and unemployment is quite low. Harvey concludes, Most likely reason
for this outcome is that the cost shock of the minimum wage is small relative to most firms'
overall costs and only modest relative to the wages paid to low-wage workers.(Harvey). Inshort, there is little to no evidence stating that in the United States if there were to be a raise in
the wages of minimum wage workers, that there would be a noticeable or drastic effect on
employment. While in theory the idea that minimum wage affects employment is reasonable, it is
simply not true and therefore Americans need to be pushing for a sustainable wage.
The minimum wage, as of this moment, is unlikely to provide for anyone in the United
States. What is more disturbing is the lack of financial security for the majority of citizens in the
U.S. In fact, most Americans are vastly unprepared in the event that they would find themselves
in a minimum wage work environment, let alone unemployed. According to a Google Consumer
Survey conducted by GOBankingRates, 62% of Americans have less than $1,000 in their savings
accounts. On top of that, 21% of Americans report to not even have a savings account to begin
with as only 19% have $5,000 or more in their savings.(Kirkham). This is not only a hazard to a
persons well-being, but there is a very large and imminent probability that a person will not be
able to provide for himself. Not only will an unemployed or laid-off worker have no financial

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stability, but that worker will not be able to put food on the table with this meager amount of a
minimum wage. One opinion of this circumstance is that of Ben Chamberlain, a minimum wage
worker and college student. Chamberlain states I wouldnt even know what to do if I had to
feed, clothe and shelter myself. The fact that you have a job, but that job isnt enough to meet
your basic needs even if youre working is appalling. Chamberlain is of the few Americans to
invest in their financial security, he states, I am thankful for the ability to be financially secure
for the coming months if something were to ever happen, without them[parents] providing for
me at this moment, I wouldnt be able to do many things. Such as going to college or even being
able to put some extra money in a savings account.(Chamberlain). Sadly, most Americans dont
have someone to take care of them incase they fall into financial crisis. Statistics show that only
16% of people ages from 35 to 54 have savings accounts with $10,000 or more in them, just
barely enough to pass as financially secure. As for the rest of the 84% of middle aged workers,
31% of them report a savings account balance of zero dollars, meaning little to no financial
security in the case of emergency, and a smaller chance of surviving on a minimum wage
(Kirkham).
This crisis has already caught attention to legislators state and nation-wide. Infact, Mayor
Ralph Becker of Salt Lake City, Utah has even proposed to raise the minimum wage from the
dreaded $7.25 to $10.10 an hour. Mayor Becker states It's not enough for someone to live on
and have housing and meet their basic needs. While his minimum wage raise would only apply
to city employees, he feels that that is the least he could do. After his proposal to raise the wages
of tipped workers was killed in the previous legislative season, Becker hopes to get his proposal
passed by the city council. Beckers proposal is simple, raise wages and keep people out of the
poverty line, while the idea of raising the wages is simple, it has met fierce resistance.

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Bills from as far back as 2012 have not received any momentum (Crow). Another problem arises
for Utahns as even though wages have not seen any notion of increase, the cost of living is
steadily rising. Food, housing, clothing and security have all seen increased prices. Some rental
apartments have even risen from $850 to $1200 in a few years, and while legislation is in
proposal to raise the minimum wage to $12.00 an hour, it seems unlikely to pass (McAdam).
This situation almost seems easy to understand, and it is. The truth is simple, the minimum wage
is not enough to scrape by on and it is certainly not a living wage. Legislation needs to pass to
increase the salaries of minimum wage workers, regardless of what opposition may suppose to
stop it. People cannot simply live on the minimum wage, that in itself is an error that needs to be
fixed.
If a man or a woman in Salt Lake City, Utah were to work a nine-to-five workshift, even
if they do not fall into illness or financial bankruptcy, even if that person were budget their
expenses with all due discrimination, that person would not be able to put food on the table.
There is great error in society when there is little to no financial security or means for someone
to provide for oneself, a simple raise of $3.50 an hour for an employee could be the difference
life, death and everlasting poverty. The minimum wage needs to be raised to a living wage, one
that will adjust to the financial circumstances, basic needs of living. Not only will this wage raise
not increase unemployment, but it will give the people a real fighting chance to survive in
society. There is only one option that Utahns have to make a livable minimum wage a possibility,
that is to notify your senator, write to your representative or anything to create political
movement. Activism is the strongest way to make your voice heard among our legislators and in
doing so, you will be fulfilling your role as an active citizen in the United States.

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Works Cited
Chamberlain, Ben. Personal Interview. Salt Lake City, Utah: April 17, 2016
Crow, Nadia. SLC could raise minimum wage to $10.10/hour Good4Utah, May 5, 2015
Web. May 7, 2015
Davidson, Lee. Utah has second-widest wage gap, The Salt Lake Tribune, April 6, 2016
Glasmeier, Amy K.

Living Wage Calculator, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

2014, Web. 2016

Harvey, John T. The Real Argument for Raising the Minimum Wage, Forbes, July 31, 2015
Kirkham, Elyssa. 62% of Americans Have Under $1,000 in Savings, Survey Finds,
GOBankingRates, October 5, 2015, Web. 2015
McAdam, Jeff. Affordable rent difficult as rates rise and lack of salary increases Fox 13 Salt
Lake City, April 25, 2016
United States Department of Labor. Fair Labor Standards Act Advisor, Department of Labor,
2016, Web. 2016