SIX DECADES LATER, THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON'S DEMAND FOR A LIVING WAGE REMAINS UNFULFILLED

One of the goals of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was the securing of a national minimum wage act that would give “all Americans a decent standard of living.” At that time, the March’s organizers specifically called for an increase of the then minimum wage from $1.25 to $2.00 an hour, noting that any wage less than $2.00 per hour would not allow persons to enjoy a decent standard of living.

In today’s dollars, that’s equivalent to demanding an increase in the minimum wage from $12.20 to $19.53. Phrased somewhat differently, the March’s organizers demanded what amounted to a 60% increase in the minimum wage, measured in 2023 dollars.

In actuality, though, minimum wage workers are worse off than they were in 1963 or 1968. Adjusted for inflation, they have lost, not gained, ground. As Jasmine Payne-Peterson and Adewale A. Maye recently observed:

"Without any mechanisms in place to automatically adjust it for rising prices, the real value of the federal minimum wage has gradually declined, reaching a 66-year low in 2023, where it is now worth 42% less than its highest point in 1968. Moreover, the federal minimum wage is worth 30% less today than when it was last raised 14 years ago. This significant loss in purchasing power means that the federal minimum wage today is nowhere close to a living wage."

NOT MAKING THE GRADE

The current minimum wage of $7.25 has been stuck there since 2009, and that paltry wage doesn’t come anywhere near to the “decent standard of living” envisioned by those who organized around and supported the economic demands of the March on Washington For Jobs And Freedom.

Just think about it.

Someone who makes $7.25 an hour— and who works full time, year round— pulls in about $1,256 per month. Once you take taxes into account, you’re probably down to a grand, at max. This is hundreds of dollars less, for instance, than the national median rental price of $1500 and $1900 for a one and two bedroom crib, respectively.

$7.25, in other words, just ain’t going to make the grade. Not with half of all one and two bedroom apartments rocking price tags in excess of $1500 and $1900, respectively.

VOTERS SUPPORT A MINIMUM WAGE OF AT LEAST $20 AN HOUR

What we need—and in keeping with the spirit of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom— is a minimum wage that enables workers to pay for the basics of life—groceries, transportation, utilities, childcare, health insurance, transportation, and so forth— without sweating bullets every month wondering they’re going to be able to make.

What we need—and in keeping with the spirit of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom— is a wage floor beneath which no worker is allowed to sink.

What we need—and in keeping with the spirit of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom— is a minimum wage that does not leave workers with “more month than money.”

One way —and I emphasize here “one way”— of fleshing out what such a wage would be is by asking folk what they believe an average worker would need in order to have a “decent standard of living.”

This is precisely what Data for Progress, a progressive research think tank, recently did— that is, they queried a representative sample of voters on how much they though the average worker needed to earn per hour in order to have a decent quality of life, a life that allowed them to afford the basic necessities without sweating it out every month:

As you can see from the above chart, Data For Progress found the average voter said that the typical worker needs to earn $26 per hour to enjoy a decent quality of life.

What’s more, across political identification—Democrat, Independent/Third party, or Republican— the average voter believes that the typical worker needs at least $25,500 to enjoy a decent standard of living.

The Data For Progress survey also asked respondents to choose from 4 hourly wage options:

• Whether a decent standard of living could be acquired on less than $10 per hour

• Whether a decent standard of living required an hourly wage of $10-$15 per hour

• Whether a decent standard of living required a wage of $15-$20 hourly

• Whether it takes more than $20 per hour to secure a decent standard of living.

The following table shows the results:

Across political lines, large majorities say that it’ll take more than $20 dollars per hour for the average workers to achieve a decent standard of living— a living, again, that’ll make it possible for the average worker to cover such basic necessities as rent, food, transportation, child-care, health insurance, transportation costs, and so forth.

More than six out of ten (63%) respondents said that you need more than $20 per hour to have a decent quality of life. While the percentages were higher for those identifying as Democrats (71%) and Independent/Third party (63%), more than half of Republicans (56%) thought that it’d take more than $20 per hour for workers to enjoy an adequate standard of living.

Oh, and by the way, virtually no one believes that a wage less than $10 is capable of supporting a decent standard of living: Less than 1% of respondent believe that such a wage enables one to secure a decent living. In fact, only 6% believe that a wage of $15 or less is capable of supporting a life consistent with human dignity.

The poll’s respondents are clear that, in their minds, part of a decent standard of living is a minimum wage that’s at least as great as—and probably more than— $20 dollars per hour.

WRAPPING UP: BACK TO THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON FOR JOBS AND FREEDOM Significantly, the minimum wage called for in the Data for Progress survey is remarkably close to the demand pushed by the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom almost sixty years ago.

If, as was demanded, the minimum wage had been increased in 1963 from $1.25 to $2.00 per hour—and if that $2.00 wage had kept up with inflation— today’s minimum would be $19.98.

That’s a start, not an ending, for thinking through what a livable wage would look like today. The results from Data for Progress indicates that folks are willing to do that, and then some.

Now, let me drop this on you before I raise up:

If you’re thinking that a minimum wage of at least $20 is crazy—good. It’s an opportunity to realize, if you haven’t already, just how bold and radical is the economic vision that underlies the March for Washington For Jobs and Freedom

They weren’t demanding peanuts…..

And neither should we.

Catch you on the flip side,

Doc Greene