Commentary: Minimum Life
by Rev. Michael S. Piazza

Although most Americans, and politicians from both parties, publicly agree that it is past time to raise the minimum wage, it is far from certain that this will happen. Republicans in the Senate are threatening to filibuster the legislation if it is not coupled with tax cuts for businesses. So, justice for the working poor is now justification for worsening the deficit and benefiting businesses that haven’t had to give minimum wage employees a raise in almost a decade.

As someone who has owned a small business in a former life, I understand the daily struggles they face. What angers me most, though, is that, while politicians argue that they are protecting small business owners, the largest employer in America is Wal-Mart, who is also the largest low-wage employer. Many of Wal-Mart’s employees qualify for food stamps, which means our tax dollars are supplementing Wal-Mart and allowing them to continue to pay subsistent wages.

Although I avoid shopping at Wal-Mart at all costs, there are times when I have no option, since Wal-Mart has succeeded in shuttering many small towns in America. Last year I was chatting with a cashier in Wal-Mart who told me that she makes minimum wage and can’t work more than 39 hours a week so they don’t have to provide her with health insurance. So, when she or her child become ill and have to go to the public hospital, our taxes supplement Wal-Mart by providing healthcare for most of their employees.

The point is this is not about providing tax breaks for small businesses. The threatened filibuster by Republican senators (like the two from Texas) is only a ploy to give further tax cuts to businesses and to not help the working poor. Congress has voted themselves pay raises eight times since the last time they raised the minimum wage, which is paid to people who have to work two or three jobs in order to support their families. Who do you think deserves the raise more? Remember, we are not talking welfare here; we are talking about some of the hardest working and most deserving of our fellow citizens. Helping the working poor should not be a partisan issue, and it is the height of hypocrisy to make us trade more tax cuts for business and higher deficits in order to do what is right.

Email the President and your senators today and tell them to do the right thing for the right reasons for a change. No, these poor workers probably can’t buy their votes like big businesses, but they deserve it because they are our sisters and brothers.