The Criminal Poverty Wage—16 Years On

The $7.25 federal poverty wage is literally killing Americans, and it must change

Sixteen years ago today—July 24, 2009—Congress raised the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour. Since then, corporate profits have skyrocketed, executive pay has exploded, and the cost of living has soared.

But the minimum wage? Still stuck at $7.25.

Let me be clear: this isn’t just bad policy. It’s economic violence. And it’s long past time we called it what it is—and demanded better. Here are six truths every American should know about our corrupt wage system. Let’s Address This.

1. If Wages Kept Pace with Profits, You’d Earn $30/Hour

That’s not a typo. If the minimum wage had grown at the same rate as corporate profits since 1979, it would be close to $30/hour today. That’s about $60,000/year—what we call a livable wage.

So when we fight for $15/hour, we’re not demanding justice. We’re making a compromise. And corporations refusing to pay even that—while posting record profits and handing out billion-dollar bonuses—are engaged in systemic wage theft.

2. No, It’s Not Just Teenagers Working for Minimum Wage

Let’s kill that tired myth right now. The average minimum wage worker is 36 years old. Over 89% are 20 or older. More than half are women. A quarter are raising children. And 57% work full-time.

This isn’t about teenagers earning pocket change. This is about adults supporting families—about people working 40, 50, 60 hours a week and still not earning enough to survive. Those who claim these are “temporary jobs for teens” are either deliberately lying or painfully ignorant. Either way, do not listen to them.

3. The Minimum Wage Was Meant to Be a Living Wage

When President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the National Industrial Recovery Act in 1933, he didn’t mince words:

“No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country.”

The minimum wage was designed to ensure dignity—not desperation. Today’s stagnant wage violates the very spirit of that promise. Corporations like Walmart who pay their workers so low that they are forced to rely on social welfare are in fact exploiting Americans. Walmart, according to FDR, does not have the right to continue to do business in this country. And if we had politicians with spines, instead of funding from corrupt corporations, we could ensure Walmart, Amazon, Target, and more pay an actual living wage—not an exploitative poverty wage.

4. Congress Knows Better—They Just Don’t Care

Let’s be real. Congress understands the power of inflation. That’s why they raised their own campaign contribution limits from $1,800 to $3,500. They made sure the wealthy could give more to their campaigns—but left working Americans earning the same $7.25 an hour.

The cruelty isn’t accidental. It’s policy.

5. $79 Trillion in Stolen Wages

A RAND Corporation study found that over the past 40 years, $79 trillion in income has been redistributed from the bottom 90% of Americans to the top 1%. Yes, that’s Trillion, with a T. So whenever you hear the super wealthy talk about the “evils” of redistribution of wealth,” just know that their ill gotten gains have come from redistributing our wealth to the top 1%.

That’s a flood of wealth—stolen from the people who built this country and funneled to the people who least need it. It has made us less safe, less secure, less healthy, and more impoverished.

6. Poverty Is a Killer

Three in five Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. And poverty doesn’t just hurt—it kills. Studies show that for every $1 increase in a person’s wage, suicide rates drop by up to 6%. That’s not abstract policy. That’s life and death. The National Institute of Health reports:

A recent study funded by NIMHD found that every $1 increase in the minimum wage of US states could reduce the suicide rate in people with high school education or less by 6%. The researchers used National Vital Statistics System data on suicides in people aged 18-64 years from all 50 states and the District of Columbia for every month from 1990 to 2015. The data included race, age, and education level of the people who died by suicide.

In this exploitative backdrop, it is clear that poverty is not simply a personal failure and it is certainly not a life choice—so we must stop allowing policies that make it like a life sentence.

In Conclusion: It’s Time to Raise the Wage

There is no excuse. Not after 16 years. Not when corporate profits are hitting record highs, CEOs are raking in millions, and working people are barely scraping by. This isn’t an economic oversight. It’s a moral failure.

The bottom line is this. Raising the wage isn’t radical, its morally sound. What’s radical is forcing full-time workers to live in poverty while billionaires hoard trillions. What’s radical is letting poverty kill while pretending we can’t afford to do better. What’s radical is calling this justice.

It’s not enough to be outraged—we have to be organized. We have to fight back. And we have to keep telling the truth, because too many people in power are counting on our silence. So please continue to speak loudly. Let politicians know that by taking corporate money, they lose your support. Demand not just a raise to $15/hour, but to a living wage that commensurates with the immense profitability created by the working class. That’s what true economic justice looks like. That’s what we must continue to fight for.