A Matter of Racial Justice
A $10.10 Minimum Wage Means A $16.1 Billion Boost For People Of Color
Among the many important reasons to raise the
minimum wage to $10.10, the issue is a matter of racial justice. Take a look at
the graphic below from the Center for American Progress outlining how much racial groups would benefit if we raise the
wage to $10.10 per hour:
People of color are far more likely to work minimum wage jobs: they
represent 42 percent of those earners even though they make up just 32 percent
of the workforce. And people of color who earn minimum wage are far more likely to live in poverty than average.
A 2013 study found that three and a half million people of color would be
lifted out of poverty if Congress passes a law raising the minimum wage to
$10.10 — out of the six million total. That is 60 percent.
As we have mentioned before, raising the
minimum wage has numerous positive economic effects for all
Americans, like taking a step to reduce income inequality. It would also
reduce government spending, providing an estimated savings from food stamps of $46 billion
over ten years as fewer people with jobs need to rely on the program.
BOTTOM LINE: Low-wage jobs
have dominated job growth since the end of the Great Recession, and these jobs
are done disproportionately by people of color. New data shows yet another
reason to raise the minimum wage to $10.10: it would provide a $16.1 billion
boost to people of color and go a long way toward making sure that Americans
working a full-time job don’t have to live in poverty.
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