What a living wage means for all of us

No one who works full time should have to worry about feeding their family.

That shouldn't be a controversial statement. It shouldn't shock anyone. No one should be offended by it.

And yet, years of Republican bellyaching and right-wing propaganda have shifted our national dialogue from "What is a fair wage for working people?" to the far more cruel "Do working people deserve a fair wage?"

That's offensive.

I'm proud to cosponsor the Raise the Wage Act of 2019, which will raise the minimum wage to $15 nationwide by 2024.

That means roughly 40 million people will earn more money to support their families.

It means billions more dollars fueling a strong economy.

It means rebuilding a middle-class hollowed out by decades of tax cuts for the rich and corporate welfare and reckless Wall Street gambling.

Above all, it means doing the right thing for the one out of every nine U.S. workers who live in poverty, despite working full-time and year-round.

I'm proud that in Oregon, we've already taken concrete steps to raise the minimum wage in our state. Now it's time for action at the federal level to make sure all Americans can earn a living wage.

Ron