By Charles Brennan
What is the minimum a person should earn per hour of work? Created by the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA), the intent of the minimum wage is to “maintain the purchasing power of wages in order to promote the general welfare” and “to prevent the exploitation of workers by the payment of wages less than fair value of their labor.” In other words, the policy is meant to ensure all workers enjoyed a minimum standard of living through fair compensation. Throughout Boulder County, the current statewide minimum wage is $13.65 per hour, but is it enough to meet the intent of the FLSA?
To answer this, we can start by asking workers what they need. A May 2023 poll by Data for Progress revealed that 63% of likely voters believed the average American worker needed to earn more than $20 per hour to afford basic necessities without struggling. Only 6% of likely voters felt that a wage below $15 per hour was sufficient for this. In other words, 90% of American voters believe a minimum wage of $13.65 per hour is not enough to support a person’s minimum standard of living, or general welfare — in the language of the FLSA.
Data from the Self-Sufficiency Standard for Colorado 2022, a report prepared by the University of Washington for the Colorado Center on Law and Policy, where I serve as the Deputy Director of Research, tells us a minimum wage of over $20 per hour is not too far from what it would take for a single adult to cover their housing, food, health care,...
Police have launched an investigation into alleged false accusation by Park Cheol-min, a former member of the Seongnam International Mafia. Park, ahead of the 2022 presidential election, raised al...