Essay On Minimum Wage

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Prosperity or Beginning of the End Have you ever questioned, can a single mom or a low-wage worker really survive on minimum wage? If one takes the time to simply calculate what they would need to earn to survive, one might be surprised to see, that minimum wage isn't enough. Is there any possible way for a person who has found themselves in this kind of predicament to rise above poverty? In this essay I hope to prove although the welfare reform was meant to and can help people get back on their feet, it has mostly only further handicapped them. Even though the Welfare reform was intended to help the poor reach prosperity, it has enabled them stay dependent on the government. Welfare offers help to single mothers and low-wage workers in hopes to help them better their lives. The agencies take their information, requesting copies to verify income and expenses, and then files their claim. Often the benefits that are received are beyond what one could make working a minimum wage job. A single mother raising 3 children without a job, could receive $450 per month for food or more. If needing help to paying electric or gas that is available also. Housing assistance, and even TV and phone service can be obtained in some …show more content…

The answer is no”(68). Low-wage workers actually would have to work two jobs to make ends meet. This hardship can deprive one of self-value and worth. Ehrenreich also demonstrates a problem working two jobs when she says, “during a dead time when I finally sit down to wrap silver, my flesh seems to bond to the seat”(78). Exhaustion is inevitable, so why not place yourself in the mercy of the welfare state. After all in these low-wage jobs all you receive is insults and stress, instead of it morally uplifting

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