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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 30, 2013)
fJortlauò (Observer O ctober 30, 2013 Page 15 Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views of the Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com. Workers The justification for a dignified minimum wage by B enjamin T odd J ealous This summer, m ini mum wage workers in C alifornia abandoned their posts at fast food restaurants and retail stores for spots on the picket line. They joined workers in cities across the country to demand an increase in the mini mum wage. Their efforts paid off last month when California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill to raise the state mini mum wage over the next three years to $10 an hour. For the first time in years, wide spread minimum wage reform is a real possibility, and we need to keep the pressure on. The current federal minimum wage is inadequate, out dated, and out of touch with the modem cost of living. In this coun try, a full-time job should be enough to keep a family above the poverty line and off of welfare. Imagine a mother working a steady, full time, year round job at the federal minimum wage - $7.25 an hour. Her annual salary will amount to just $ 15,080. That puts her below the poverty line for a family of two, and well below the poverty line for a family of four. To make matters worse, her paltry salary depreciates in value each year, since the fed- eral minimum wage is not tied to inflation. At this rate, she could put in 45,50 or even 60 hour weeks in an effort to keep her family off not the unemployed. These are not the underemployed. These are the over employed and underpaid, It is a travesty that millions of Americans work full time but still struggle to support their families, They are making a decision to be hard-working employees and re sponsible parents, but their employ- ers are also making a decision - to pay them poverty wages, Raising the minimum wage is imperative, and the potential cost to businesses and consumers is less than you might think. According to a recent study by DEMOS, raising \ Raising the minimum wage is imperative, and the potential cost to businesses and consumers is less than you might think. I welfare, but she would still qualify for - and most likely need - public assistance. This is hardly a hypothetical situ ation. Thirty-three U.S. states and territories use the federal minimum wage, and there are over three mil lion mothers and fathers just get ting by on full-time jobs. These are the federal minimum wage to $ 12.25 ($25,000 for a full-time, year round worker) would cost large retailers just one percent of total annual sales, and it would cost consumers just 12 to 18 cents extra per shopping trip. At the same time, this change would lift more than 700,000 people out of poverty. There are several opportunities to make this a reality. In November, New Jersey voters will decide whether to raise the state minimum wage to $8.25 and tie it to the cost of living. President Obama recently suggested increasing the federal minimum wage to $9. Even below the Mason-Dixon Line, two Maryland counties are considering bills to raise their minimum wage to $11.25.(Oregon’sminimum wage is $8.95 and will rise to $9.10 in January with an automatic cost o f living adjustment.) It is time for a new social contract for people at the bottom of the eco nomic ladder. We need to stand up with workers in California and other states and demand a dignified m ini mum wage on the federal level and in our communities. We can no longer afford not to. Benjamin Todd Jealous is the president and chief executive of ficer o f the national NAACP. THE LAW OFFICES OF Patrick John Sweeney, P.C. Patrick John Sweeney Attorney at Law 1549 SE Ladd Portland, Oregon Portland: Hillsoboro: Facsimile: Email: (503) 244-2080 (503) 244-2081 (503) 244-2084 Sweeney @ PDXLawyer.com Closing the Gap in Health Care A basic human right that all God’s children deserve by Y vonne O liver When the federal g o v ern m en t shut down for 16 days, more than 800,000 “nonessential” fed eral employees be came unemployed. No one believed it would go that far. After more, than 41 attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), health care reform became the scapegoat for the government shutdown. Was it a mere coinci dence that opening day of enroll ment for the health insurance mar ketplace was the day the govern ment shutdown occurred? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide. The Patient Protection Afford able Care Act gives more than 40 million uninsured folks health in surance. Yet, ‘trusted leaders’ have taken a stand against the 2010 law, declaring, “We need to delay pro viding this benefit,” because giving poor and middle class hard working people another entitlement makes them rely too much on the govern ment. Having an illness or a chronic disease and not being able to get much needed care dimin ishes a person’ s quality of life and can contribute to prema ture death. The ACA has cre ated a new space for how we care for each other. H ealthcare reform takes away the control insurance companies once held and holds hospitals accountable for the qual ity of care they deliver. Healthcare is a basic human right that all G od’s children deserve, but right-wing extremists continue to spin exag gerated or inaccurate analyses which only serve to create anger, anxiety, blaming, uncertainty and more de spair among hard working families. Much can be said about a people by the way we care for the most vulnerable citizens, our babies and our elders. The United States ranks 38th in healthcare systems accord ing to the World Health Organiza tion. In May, the Huffington Post reported that “the U.S. falls behind 68 other countries in infant mortal ity.” As baby boomers mature, we now have more people over the age 50 than ever in our history. An aging population is one of the greatest challenges we face in the 21st Cen tury. Health insurance coverage for all people should not be negotiable. The ACA provides no annual or lifetime caps of benefits; free pre ventive services like mammograms, prostate exams and colonoscopies; a 50 percent reduction on prescrip tion drugs with elimination of the donut hole by 2020; allowance for children up to age 26 to stay on parent’s insurance; elimination of gender based pricing, elimination of denials based on pre-existing con ditions; and additional resources for doctors to provide better care. The Affordable Care Act saves money from a reduction in waste, fraud, abuse and Medicare costs. It is time to let our legislators know we need them to do their con stitutional duty and provide for the well-being of their public. Where healthcare is concerned, the ACA is a good start. We need our legisla tors to help make it work for every one, rather than create obstructions that serve no one. Yvonne Oliver is a program as sociate fo r healthcare justice in the United Church o f Christ. 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