Raise The Floor: Wages and Policies That Work for All of Us

Most Americans believe a job should keep you out of poverty, not keep you in it. "Raise The Floor," shows us how we can translate that belief into reality. An annual minimum wage income of $10,712 a year just doesn't add up. The book presents national minimum needs budgets for individuals and families to meet basic needs such as food, housing and health care. "Raise The Floor" shows minimum wage critics are wrong, demonstrates how good wages are good business, and recommends raising the minimum wage to $8. That's what a single worker needs to meet their minimum needs working full time. That's what it takes just to match the minimum wage of 1968, adjusting for inflation. To assure that all working families can meet basic needs, the book explains how we can supplement a higher minimum wage with improved child care, health care, housing and Earned Income Tax Credit policies, and other practical solutions.