Certain books just make you want to curl up with them, wrapping yourself in the homemade colcha you've had since you were five. But not this book. Nor should it.
The authors of "Raise the Floor: Wages and Policies that Work for All of Us" remind us that the safety net of United States prosperity is something intangible for people struggling to survive while earning federal minimum wage. "Raise the Floor," published by the ms. foundation for women, focuses on the dire need to "raise the floor" of federal minimum wage regulations now failing to meet basic minimum needs for those working full-time.
"Raise the Floor" points out the federally recognized poverty level for a single individual is $9,000 for 2000 census thresholds. But, the book also argues, the minimum needs for a single to survive equals $16,550, without health benefits. Based on the authors' calculations, a wage of at least $8 an hour would allow a single worker to beat the poverty standard, while the federal minimum wage is now $5.15 an hour.
The book floods the reader with tables and statistics showing various conditions related to the minimum wage and poverty. Personal narratives from individuals who live by earning minimum wage dot the text. But, these narratives are too few to provide insight into the real-life challenges these individuals face. Instead, the authors leave the reader to sift through a myriad of statistics, making the book read more like a congressional report than a document with a cohesive, engaging argument.
To a slight degree, the book redeems itself when the authors argue for supplements for families working for a minimum wage. Those solutions include expanding the earned income tax credit, universal health care and universal child care. But because the solutions are so busy with statistics, it is difficult to decipher the actual arguments. The redemption is only slight.
The book is even more problematic in light of how the authors use statistics. For instance, while the authors outline state minimum wage levels, they fail to substantiate their arguments about those wage levels. Where New Mexico is concerned, the minimum wage is $4.25 per hour, a wage lower than the federal minimum wage. The authors do not address how many individuals actually work for this wage. The implied idea is that individuals who work for minimum wage begin working for $4.25 an hour and does not address whether this is the current trend in employment practices.
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"Raise the Floor" attends to important minimum wage issues and national repercussions of a low minimum wage. Unfortunately, it inundates the reader with too many facts, too quickly listed, too rarely developed to work effectively.
