The Minimum Wage It is not Enough to Cover Basic Needs Essay

The government sets minimum wage at what they think an average person needs to live a healthy life, but is minimum wage isnt really enough to support a person. Minimum wage does not change with inflation, and prices have gone up since the last time minimum wage was changed on July 5, 2009. People get paid minimum wage, which is what the government says should be enough to cover the costs of living for a person, but for those living on minimum wage, hunger and malnutrition are a big problem, even with government and public assistance like SNAP (The Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program) and housing assistance programs. People still struggle to cover payments on their cars, homes, and utilities. The Covenant Food Kitchen in†¦show more content†¦As inflation causes the economy to change, minimum wage has decreased in value as inflation has caused the economy to change. A minimum wage that might have been enough to support a person a couple of years ago would not be enough to support a person now. For instance, in 1980, minimum wage was about $16,647 dollars a year, but an apartment in Manhattan, New York was only about $10,400 per year in rent, leaving about $120 dollars a month for other expenses. Now, minimum wage is about $13,195 per year, with an apartment in Manhattan being around $7,200 per year in rent, not counting utilities, leaving about $5,995 for other expenses. Keep in mind that food, gasoline, utilities, and other essentials were much cheaper in the 1980’s than they are now. An average household spends about $294 per month (Loweryourspending.com), or about $3,528 a year , on groceries, leaving about $2,467 for the rest of a persons expenses. SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, has been in existence since May 16, 1939. The original food stamp program allowed consumers to purchase food stamps, essentially giving them $1.50 for every dollar they spent on food. It was meant to get farm surpluses to urban areas where people were undernourished (USDA). SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, is designed to reduce food insecurity, which can be described as reduced food intake, disrupted eating patterns due to lack of money orShow MoreRelatedThe Impact Of Minimum Wages On Society1741 Words   |  7 Pagestalking about how minimum wages can have impacts on society as well as if there are new laws coming into place to help the common person with a family. Also see if households are impacted by how much they are getting paid and see what companies are doing to help with those that are just making minimum wage. 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