Ever wonder why jeans have that little 5th pocket? Well, originally it was for a pocket watch. But it became known as a coin pocket for many decades. This will be hard to believe but there was a time, before cell phones, when these physical phones were placed in public places like street corners, schools, and restaurants and that’s how people keep in touch when they were away from home. Anyway, these phones took coins to make phone calls. It was a dime for a long while then a quarter. Kids would put a coin in that 5th pocket in case of an emergency. Now, money isn’t what it used to be. Just last week, in the lunchroom, I witnessed a classmate drop a quarter on accident, glance at it then decide it wasn’t worth the effort to pick up. The girls at her table saw it and also decided it wasn’t worth the effort. Who knows, maybe it’s still there.
Some of us have after-school or weekend jobs. Imagine getting paid a measly quarter for an hour of work. That was the case in 1938. The minimum hourly wage was only $.25 per hour. Of course, times were different. A quarter in 1938 is about $4.30 today. I would suspect that if offered a $5 bill for an hour of labor, most of us would politely decline. It’s just not worthwhile.
Over time, the minimum wage has grown faster than inflation, but it is enough? We can compare it to a few other measurements to get an idea of its value. We can look at the purchasing power of money in comparison to the minimum wage to get an idea of its value. As an example, the peak purchasing power versus minimum wage was in 1968 when the minimum wage was $1.60. As you probably heard, we recently raised our minimum wage to $15 per hour.
Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, is a measurement we use to express the value of our economy. So, it would follow that if our country is doing better, our laborers should benefit from that as well, right? Wouldn’t that be just? “You will break to pieces many nations; you will devote their spoils to the Lord, their riches to the Lord of the whole earth.” (Micah 4:13). Micah is talking to Israel and pleading for them to share their wealth fairly. So, the country is doing better, money isn’t worth as much as it used to be, wages aren’t high enough. Where’s all the money going? Well, it’s going to a smaller percentage of our workforce. Capitalism and democracy and the opportunity for one person to climb from nothing to everything are what make this country great. I’m not arguing to lessen that, but we should have a safety net. A working-class American deserves to benefit from our country’s prosperity with a wage that earns him or her a comfortable lifestyle. Increasing the minimum wage and investment is also increasing demand and creating more jobs. Workers, therefore, stay longer with employers, reducing the turnover, hiring, and training costs for businesses. Lower unemployment and higher wages just increase money received from taxes.
What can you do? “[For what [else] does the Lord require of you but to do justice.” (Micah 6:8). You’re just a high school kid, right? You’re a voice in the community. Call your congressperson, email them if you don’t have a quarter to make a phone call. You can find email addresses for the CEOs of companies that fight against higher wages or treat workers unfairly and voice your concern because it’s their responsibility as well. As President Franklin once said… “It seems to me to be equally plain that no business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country.” (President Franklin D. Roosevelt).