EDITORIAL - One problem with all Americans making a minimum of $15 an hour is that some business owners don’t make $15 an hour. Hundreds of thousands of small business owners struggle every day to keep the lights on and the doors of their business open. The only way they can afford help is with people who are willing to work for a low wage. This is tough for all. In most cases, the business owner would like to pay more and the employee needs to make more.
You can’t economically survive on $290 a week. Apartment rent can easily be $500 to $3000 a month depending on where you live. Add utilities, cell phone, transportation and you can forget to eat much if any. The reality is that minimum wage workers can barely survive. They end up applying for public assistance, standing in food bank lines and eventually face deteriorating health and often homelessness. You cannot care for yourself on $7.25 an hour. Living out of your car or in a tent is not the American dream.