Hourly wage should be tied to cost of living

During his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama said, “Tonight, let’s declare that in the wealthiest nation on earth, no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty, and raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour.”

It’s amazing that our great president actually said that.

While Mr. President, if minimum wage were $9 an hour and one worked 40 hours a week all 52 weeks of the year, their annual salary would be $18,720. That is before taxes and assuming those who work for minimum wage actually work 40 hours a week every week of the year.

Could you comfortably live on that wage? I didn’t think so.

According to the National Poverty Center University of Michigan, the poverty level is $11,344 for a single person, $15,030 for a single parent with one child, $17,568 for a single parent of two children, $14,602 for two adults with no children and $17,552 for two adults with one child.

So this minimum wage proposal is slightly above the national poverty level, but still not enough to live on today when the cost of living is so much.

Here’s an idea: make minimum wage equal to the cost of living, so no one has to choose between feeding their family, paying their bills or putting gasoline in their vehicle. Make it so everyone can afford to do all of that plus enjoy life.