Red Wine & Blue
Red Wine & Blue is a national community of over half a million diverse suburban women working together to defeat extremism, one friend at a time. We train and connect women from across the country of all political backgrounds, including many who have never been political before, to get sh*t done and have fun along the way.
We launched "The Suburban Women Problem" podcast in May of 2021, and after 5 seasons and 1.3 million downloads, we brought the show to an end to pave the way for new podcasts out of Red Wine & Blue. Subscribe and stay tuned in to hear brand new series, starting with "Okay, But Why?"
There's so much happening in politics right now, it’s hard to keep up. It feels like every day, there’s a new outrageous headline. But it’s not always clear why these things are happening. So in this weekly series of short shareable episodes, we’re here to ask… “Okay, But Why?”
When they go low, we go local. We hope you join us.
Red Wine & Blue
Okay, But Why Is Minimum Wage So Low?
The federal minimum wage right now is $7.25. For someone working full-time, that translates to $15,060 per year, just $20 over the national poverty line.
The US minimum wage has been hotly debated since its beginning, so this week, we’re taking a closer look at its history, exactly who is making it, and dispelling some misinformation.
In 2023, almost a million hourly workers in the United States made minimum wage or less. And contrary to popular belief, they’re not all teenagers — many are moms earning half of their family’s total income. They’re working jobs you might expect, like retail and food service, but also jobs you might not have expected, like home healthcare workers. And here’s something important to know: the minimum wage doesn’t automatically increase with inflation. It has to be intentionally raised by Congress, something that hasn’t happened since 2009. Think about how much prices have gone up since then!
It doesn’t have to be this way. If we look at other countries around the world, or even America a few decades ago, we can see that wealth inequality has never been this bad. It’s not a fact of life; it’s not a necessary evil to have a good economy. It can change if we all talk to our friends and neighbors… and vote accordingly.
For a transcript of this episode, please email comms@redwine.blue.
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