The Community, Faith and Labor Coalition is a Marion county advocate group with interests in state and federal issues affecting local people. We welcome you to our new website! We are currently in the process of updating and adding information, so check back in often!!
More Evidence Shows Economic Rules are Rigged The next time someone tells you they think our economy is fair, here's new proof that it's not. |  |
In fact, just between 2005 and 2006, average income adjusted for inflation of the top 1 percent grew by $73,000 (or 7 percent), while the average income of the bottom 90 percent grew by just $20 (or 0.1 percent). (In 2006, the top 1 percent were those with incomes above $375,000, and the bottom 90 percent were those with incomes below $105,000.)
So, what does it tell us that incomes are growing faster for those at the top? Clearly the rules that govern income growth in our economy are rigged in favor of the already rich.
But it doesn't have to be this way. The same data show that in the three decades after World War II, things were reversed: incomes for the top 1 percent grew only 25 percent, while for the bottom 90 percent they grew 92 percent.
Among the rules that changed between then and now are union-busting, trade liberalization, deregulation, and tilted tax policies. Time to change them back?
First, to answer the question: What is a Living Wage?
A living wage is a wage that allows a full time worker to provide food, housing, health care, childcare, and basic transportation for themselves and their family.
Next, to answer the question: Why should we care?
To date, 112 other municipalities in the U.S. have passed a living wage ordinance. In 1997, in Marion County, a full-time working parent with one child needed a wage of $11 an hour to meet this minimal level. With two kids they would need $13.50. We all know how much costs have risen since then. Our community should want to align itself with other communities that have decided that social justice makes economic sense.
As we lift up wages, we stand up for the dignity of every working person, and for the health, safety, morals, and integrity of our community. If the minimum wage had grown at the same rate as CEO salaries since 1960, it would now be $41 an hour. Instead, at $5.85 in Indiana, it provides barely more than half the Federal poverty level for a family of four. As a community, we cannot tolerate such disparities in the apparent value of human lives. Every full-time worker deserves at least a living wage.
The Community, Faith and Labor Coalition (CFLC) of Indiana works diligently to bring living wage ordinances to Indiana. Please spend some time reading the information on this website and contact us for more information. We'd also love to have you join us for our next meeting!
