The Moral Minimum

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The Moral Minimum
Holly Sklar and Rev. Paul Sherry
May 19, 2006

A values movement is on the rise across the nation in red states and blue, from Arizona to Ohio, Arkansas to Pennsylvania. It's pulling Americans together to raise the minimum wage—instead of pushing us apart.

The minimum wage is a bedrock moral value. The minimum wage is where society draws the line: This low and no lower.

Our bottom line is this: A job should keep you out of poverty, not keep you in it.

That's the winning message of the Let Justice Roll Living Wage Campaign, a fast-growing nonpartisan program of 70 faith, labor and community organizations working to raise the minimum wage at the federal and state level.

Last month, Arkansas became the first state in the South whose legislature has voted to increase the state minimum wage above the federal level of $5.15—an unconscionable $10,712 a year for full-time work. The increase came just four months after the Let Justice Roll affiliate, Give Arkansas A Raise Now, began a campaign to raise the minimum wage through an amendment to the Arkansas Constitution. As Rev. Steve Copley said at the recent Let Justice Roll national meeting, the campaign effectively brought home this point: "Everyday, thousands of Arkansans get up, go to work—and still can't provide a decent livelihood for themselves and their families.

Continued @ http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/05/19/the_moral_minimum.php

Become a Citizen Co-Sponsor of the Fair Minimum Wage Act in the Senate:

http://kennedy.senate.gov/newsletter/mwcitizencosponsor.cfm

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