A smarter way to tackle poverty The economic buzzword of the year is inequality – it has sparked protests around the world, it’s a centerpiece of President Obamas agenda now, and it has even inspired an unlikely bestseller. People watch the growing inequality around the world and in the United States and despair about what to do. One of the most popular fixes is raising the minimum wage – and that’s not just on the left. Germanys Chancellor Angela Merkel has recently supported a new wage increase, as has Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer the Conservative Party’s George Osborne. In the United States, President Obama proposed boosting the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour at the beginning of the year. Thats a 39 percent increase over the current wage minimum of $7.25. Republicans have, of course, made it clear that they will never pass this in Congress. Last week, the International Monetary Fund weighed in and urged the U.S. to raise the wage floor, saying it is low by both historical and international standards. The federal minimum wage in America was about 38 percent of the median wage in 2011, which is one of lowest percentages among the rich countries of the world.
Posted on: Sun, 29 Jun 2014 19:41:00 +0000
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