Higher Minimum Wage Can Lift Minorities

Most recently, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that from 2002 to 2003 the number of Americans in poverty increased by 1.3 million people to 35.9 million. This caused the official poverty rate to rise from 12.1 to 12.5 percent. Although the poverty rates of African-Americans and Hispanics did not change from 2002 to 2003, they both exceed 20 percent. One of the most disturbing aspects of the Census Bureau's release was the increase in child poverty from 16.7 percent in 2002 to 17.6 percent. About 800,000 more children now live in poverty. The White House's response to the poverty data was to treat them as old news, as the economy supposedly has improved since 2003. Yes, after over 30 months, albeit at a meager rate, the economy has started to add jobs. But if we look at several of the key labor statistics that are correlated with poverty, we will find that the prospects for Americans who have no more than a high school degree, who are single parents or are African-American have not improved since the Census Bureau collected the data. [more ]