A Living Wage Buys Health
Setup
Health care or child care? Food or gas? Rent or electric bill? Tens of millions of US households face those impossible choices every month because they don’t earn enough money to pay for basic needs. The federal minimum wage of $7.25/hour won’t allow a worker to afford the average price of a modest one-bedroom apartment anywhere in the country. Little wonder that activists have shifted their emphasis from a minimum wage to a living wage that actually covers the cost of essentials. The health impacts are potent: Pay workers enough and smoking levels go down, birth weight goes up, rates of depression and child neglect fall. Should government and business put their muscle behind a living wage?
Speakers
- 2019 Health
Explore More
USA
Two pro athletes talk about the perils of speaking up for justice in 2020, and what it would take to see progress and create measurable societal change.
The highest court often seems distanced from our day-to-day lives, but the rulings that come out of the Supreme Court are woven into the fabric of the nation. Though it aims t...
The youngest member of the US Senate talks about championing a new brand of conservatism.
Leading on the Frontlines, a series from Aspen Ideas Now, features mayors and governors across the United States in candid discussions about how they're facing tough decisions...
Did the results of the Supreme Court's most recent term surprise you? Plus, "big ideas" from Neal Katyal and Emma Robbins.
Systemic racism in America cuts across institutions like criminal justice, healthcare, housing, employment, and education.
