The Universal Living Wage

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The Universal Living Wage

In 1906 Father John Ryan, a renowned social and economic intellectual within the Catholic Church, published a book titled A Living Wage: Its Ethical and Economic Aspects. The book introduced to America workers the idea of a guaranteed minimum pay determined by the basic costs of living and set the stage for later minimum wage legislation during the 1930’s. Over the last decade, the idea of a living wage has resurfaced as workers have become more outspoken about the inadequacies of the federal and state minimum wage levels. Living wage legislation for government workers has taken effect in major U.S. cities such as Baltimore, Los Angeles, San Jose, Detroit, Boston, and many more. This paper will discuss the moral, social, and economic implications of instituting these laws as well as labor conditions around the world and the need for guaranteed living wages in countries such as India and Mexico.

First of all, a clear definition of the living wage should be established. The Universal Living Wage Campaign Organization says that if a person works forty hours a week, a living wage should provide the worker and his/her dependents with proper nutrition, health care, housing, clothing, and transportation. Some debate has arisen around this definition though for a few reasons. First of all, the number of dependents the wage-earner must support has a huge impact on the calculation of the living wage. A wage-earner who only has to support himself can survive with a much lower wage than a wage-earner who must support a family of five for example, so how should legislation take this into account? If the idea of the living wage is to pay workers based on need, a law that provides a wage capable of supp...

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- Clean Clothes Campaign. < http://www.cleanclothes.org/campaign/liwa99-11-

3.htm>.

- “Universal Living Wage Effect on Business and Taxpayers”.

http://www.nationalhomeless.org/ulwwhitepaper.html

- Pritchard, Justin. “U.S. Study Concludes That 'Living Wage' Reduces Poverty”.

< http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0314-03.htm >. 2002

- Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras. “New Study: Mexicans Unable to Live

on Sweatshop Wages”. <http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=426>. 2001.

- CFO “Protecting the Rights of Maquiladora Workers”.

<http://cfomaquiladoras.org/english%20site/costovida.en.html>

- Pritchard, Justin. “Study: Living Wage Laws Work”.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/03/14/national/main503712.shtml

- http://www.epinet.org/issueguides/minwage/figure1.gif

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