West Virginia’s minimum wage has been the same since 2016. (Photo by Jennifer Miranda/Getty Images)
The Americans believe that the employees earn a fundamental standard of living that is exploited free by employers. All states and the federal government have minimum wage laws. These laws prevent more than exploitation. They also stimulate the economy, reduce poverty and inequality and contribute to solving social and health problems.
Unfortunately, the legislator in West Virginia does not seem to be interested in promoting our minimum wage and the frigid for the life difficulties of minimum wage workers. The minimum wage in West Virginia has been $ 8.75 per hour since 2016.
Since then, almost 35% has interrupted the purchase of $ 8.75 in 2016. This means that today’s minimum wage worker actually took enormous wage shortening compared to the same minimum wage worker in 2016. In order to provide the same shopping power, West Virginia Minimum wage would have to rise $ 11.78.
Two other ways show how shameful the problem has become. If today’s minimum wage worker produces a complete schedule of 2,080 hours without unpaid free time, it would earn only $ 18,200 before taxes. While this is above the federal poverty of $ 15,560 for a single person without children, the income that is necessary is to escape poverty with a child, $ 21,150. Both our minimum wage worker and her child only become poverty because the legislator does not act.
A better way to evaluate the minimum wage in West Virginia is to compare it with the “living wage”, a concept that was developed in 2003 on. The livelihood is what a full -time worker needs to cover the costs of their family’s basic needs in the place where they live. It includes the specific local costs for food, childcare, healthcare, housing construction, transport, clothing, personal care items, broadband and taxes. The 2025 livelihood Before taxes for an adult in West Virginia without children, $ 40,415. With a child, the livelihood increases to 68,660 US dollars.
If you boost the minimum wage, work will be more attractive
The employment rate rate is the percentage of people aged 16 and over, who are employed or actively search for work. The LFP rate of West Virginia is 54.3%, the absolutely worst in the nation. It is not the availability of jobs in West Virginia, that’s the problem. It is their attractiveness. An obvious way to boost the value and attractiveness of the work is to boost the minimum wage.
Low workers do not differ as the rest of us. Everyone evaluates the economic decisions before them. For example, is it better to stay at home and take care of the children or get a job? A higher minimum wage tends to calculate the calculation in favor of the work.
Both Democrats and Republicans want more West Virgins to work. But “poverty feasts” with low incomes or threats to eliminate public services, unless they accept bad jobs, is not a sustainable policy. It is the better approach to get more people to boost the minimum wage and make work stronger.
If you boost the minimum wage, you can save the life of the children
A higher income for employees with low wages leads directly to better health for expectant mothers and A higher survival rate for newborns. It also reduces frustration and anger among low -wage workers who lead to child abuse and neglect.
Child mortality in the United States is driven almost exclusively by excess deaths for children in mothers with low incomes. Approximately in 2023 9.8% of the live births In West Virginia, babies with a low birth weight were defined than those who weigh less than £ 5.5. Low birth weight contributes a significant contribution to child mortality.
If a child in a family with low income survives his first year of life, it is still a risk of abuse and neglect. Family income is strongly associated with the risk of abuse of children. A study Indiana University recorded a return of the reported neglect of children by 9.6% for each boost in the minimum wage of $ 1.
Misused and neglected children will often end up with care, but the West Virginia care system is located in ruins. Increasing the minimum wage is an smart political means of saving children and reducing the stress of our care system.
Increasing the minimum wage helps to save the life of the adult
In 2020, sociologists Angus Deaton and Anne Case identified a worrying trend that they called “Deaths of despair.” These are deaths from suicide, overdose and violence in connection with weapons. They found that wealthier people tend to be healthier and live longer, but people with lower incomes often have to deal with feelings of depression and hopelessness, which led to an earlier death.
If not only the minimum wage increases, people can pull out of poverty and rely less on state support, but could also reduce this “death of despair”.
People under financial stress try more than 20 -more often. In 2022, West Virginia had one Suicide rate of 18.3 per 100,000 people, which is 65% higher than the national average and has increased by almost 23% in the past 20 years. In fact, suicide is the second most common cause of death for newborn people in the state.
A 2020 study It was found that $ 3.4% of the minimum wage was attributed by icon to 5.9% of suicide in adults between the ages of 18 and 64 who had a high school training or less.
The boost in the minimum wage in West Virginia can save lives.
The boost in the minimum wage will benefit the entire economy
The boost in the minimum wage not only benefits the employees whose wages were below the fresh minimum, but would also benefit many other employees in the economy. This is because employers want to avoid Wage compression. If a minimum wage worker suddenly receives an boost due to a change in the law, employees usually receive an boost in the employer’s wage scale, so that they remain above. This rounds off the chain of compensation, even to employees.
The overall economy benefits directly from an boost in the minimum wage, since the employees with low wages spend additional income compared to higher paid employees. More money in the pockets of people with low income leads to more expenses for necessities than saving. As a result, an boost in the minimum wage directly increases the amount of money all around in the overall economy. This has a wealth effect for everyone else.
By increasing the minimum wage, taxpayers save money
Medicaid, food brands and other forms of public support are financed with tax money.
The boost in the minimum wage reduces the dependence on all forms of public support and thus reduces the general tax burden.
In addition, the boost in the minimum wage for the governments is “reverse”, since the wage boost with taxpayers is not paid. An boost in the minimum wage leads to more tax revenue for the governments, since it generates taxpayer income and stimulates taxpayered economic activity.
The boost in the minimum wage is not only the right thing in the richest economy in the world, but for all of these reasons it is also a robust economic and socio -political policy.
