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The Minimum Wage in America Is Pretty Damn Low
Below is a chart that compares the minimum vs. median wage in several countries. The low minimum wage is costly to tax payers because we end up paying for subsidies through food stamps, child care credits, health care, etc. . . That is essentially a form of corporate welfare to companies who yield profits by paying sub-poverty level wages. A living wage would therefore actually save taxpayers money.
The Minimum Wage in America Is Pretty Damn Low
—By Kevin Drum| Mon Dec. 2, 2013 12:21 PM GMT
257
Everyone's talking about the minimum wage today. I'm in favor of raising it, and I always have been, but a picture is worth a thousand words, so here's a picture for you. Courtesy of the OECD, it shows the minimum wage in various rich countries as a percentage of the average wage. The United States isn't quite the lowest, but we're pretty damn close.
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/12/minimum-wage-america-pretty-damn-low