Progressive Christians back minimum wage justice call
-21/06/06
Progressive Christians
Progressive Christians back minimum wage justice call
-21/06/06
Progressive Christians in the USA are being urged by the coalition group ëFaithful Americaí to remind senators that what people in the United States earn is a matter of justice and that they should raise the minimum wage.
Says the briefing paper circulating among individuals, congregations and organizations: ìThe Christian faith is not neutral when it comes to financial matters. There are over 2,000 verses in the Bible that deal with issues of money and wealth, and many of them concern the economic well-being of people at the margins of society.î
It continues: ìIt is important that in a nation in which more than 200 million of our citizens profess the Christian faith that we who are believers advocate a Christian ethic in the way that we compensate the people at the bottom of the wage scale.î
It has been nearly a decade since the US Congress raised the federal minimum wage. In inflation-adjusted dollars this stagnant figure represents one-third less buying power than when it was first passed, critics say.
Someone earning the minimum wage would earn around 10,700 US dollars a year, which is about 6ooo dollars below the poverty line for a family of three.
This week, Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy is expected to make an amendment to a Department of Defense authorization bill that would raise the federal minimum wage 2.10 dollars an hour to 7.25 dollars.
This comes on the heels of last week’s attempt by a House subcommittee to make this same move, which was ultimately blocked from coming to the floor by the House leadership.
Opponents say that a higher minimum wage will ultimately hurt the poor through shrinking employment and that it will damage the prospects of small businesses. But proponents retort that this was not what happened the last time it happened federally, and has not been the case in states which have, on their own, raised the standard.
In fact, the states which have already helped those at the bottom of the wage scale have actually had the greatest rate of job growth in small businesses afterwards, compared to states who kept the stagnant federal rate.
Economists say that this is because putting money in the pockets of consumers stimulates economic growth, which is something politicians argue whenever they want to pass a deficit-financed tax cut for the rich, but forget when it comes to talking about raising the pay of the poor.
Says Faithful America: ìIn 2005 the US Bureau of Labour Statistics reported the creation of 700,000 new millionaires in the United States. Isn’t it about time we raised the standard of living for the poorest Americans?î
The call for better income standards for the poorest is backed among members of the ecumenical body, the National Council of Churches USA, which gathers together Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, African and Historic Peace Church denominations accounting for some 45 million Christians.
In Britain, Church Action on Poverty, the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster are among those who have similarly called for a ‘living wage’.
[Also on Ekklesia: Christian Left alliance launched in the USA; US church leader challenges president to tackle inequality; US Christians to lobby the Capitol for justice and peace; Tsunami: justice as well as relief needed, say Christians; CAFOD kicks off its Focus Africa initiative; Debt forgiveness must go further say Christians; Church agencies to join major climate change coalition; US faith groups continue pressure for health care]
Progressive Christians back minimum wage justice call
-21/06/06
Progressive Christians in the USA are being urged by the coalition group ëFaithful Americaí to remind senators that what people in the United States earn is a matter of justice and that they should raise the minimum wage.
Says the briefing paper circulating among individuals, congregations and organizations: ìThe Christian faith is not neutral when it comes to financial matters. There are over 2,000 verses in the Bible that deal with issues of money and wealth, and many of them concern the economic well-being of people at the margins of society.î
It continues: ìIt is important that in a nation in which more than 200 million of our citizens profess the Christian faith that we who are believers advocate a Christian ethic in the way that we compensate the people at the bottom of the wage scale.î
It has been nearly a decade since the US Congress raised the federal minimum wage. In inflation-adjusted dollars this stagnant figure represents one-third less buying power than when it was first passed, critics say.
Someone earning the minimum wage would earn around 10,700 US dollars a year, which is about 6ooo dollars below the poverty line for a family of three.
This week, Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy is expected to make an amendment to a Department of Defense authorization bill that would raise the federal minimum wage 2.10 dollars an hour to 7.25 dollars.
This comes on the heels of last week’s attempt by a House subcommittee to make this same move, which was ultimately blocked from coming to the floor by the House leadership.
Opponents say that a higher minimum wage will ultimately hurt the poor through shrinking employment and that it will damage the prospects of small businesses. But proponents retort that this was not what happened the last time it happened federally, and has not been the case in states which have, on their own, raised the standard.
In fact, the states which have already helped those at the bottom of the wage scale have actually had the greatest rate of job growth in small businesses afterwards, compared to states who kept the stagnant federal rate.
Economists say that this is because putting money in the pockets of consumers stimulates economic growth, which is something politicians argue whenever they want to pass a deficit-financed tax cut for the rich, but forget when it comes to talking about raising the pay of the poor.
Says Faithful America: ìIn 2005 the US Bureau of Labour Statistics reported the creation of 700,000 new millionaires in the United States. Isn’t it about time we raised the standard of living for the poorest Americans?î
The call for better income standards for the poorest is backed among members of the ecumenical body, the National Council of Churches USA, which gathers together Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, African and Historic Peace Church denominations accounting for some 45 million Christians.
In Britain, Church Action on Poverty, the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster are among those who have similarly called for a ‘living wage’.
[Also on Ekklesia: Christian Left alliance launched in the USA; US church leader challenges president to tackle inequality; US Christians to lobby the Capitol for justice and peace; Tsunami: justice as well as relief needed, say Christians; CAFOD kicks off its Focus Africa initiative; Debt forgiveness must go further say Christians; Church agencies to join major climate change coalition; US faith groups continue pressure for health care]