Racism is a systemic issue---Minimum wage ignores the racial inequality that exists in society today
Gili Malinsky 23, Gili Malinsky is a lead work reporter at Make It. Previously an earnings reporter at CNBC and Acorns’ partnership site, Grow, her work has also appeared in The New York Times, NBC News, and Vice, among others. Gili received her degree in journalism from Boston University, “Minimum wages are going up, but typical workers still don’t make enough to get by in any U.S. state,” CNBC, https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/16/minimum-wage-many-workers-still-arent-making-enough-to-get-by.html//ethanh
‘You have several states with a long history of very cruel racism’
At least when it comes to some of the southern states, the country’s history with slavery plays into current minimum wages, too.
States like Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee don’t technically have a minimum wage, so it defaults to the national $7.25 per hour. In Georgia, the minimum wage for employers that don’t fall under the Fair Labor Standards Act is $5.15.
“There was an enormous amount of value to labor, but it wasn’t monetized because slaves didn’t get paid,” says Amy K. Glasmeier, professor of economic geography and regional planning at MIT and creator of the Living Wage Calculator, of the U.S. work history. Even when they legally had to start paying everyone, they kept wages low.
Today, “you have several states with a long history of very cruel racism still opposing paying workers, disproportionately workers who are Black or Hispanic, higher wages,” says Zipperer. “And that takes the form of not having a minimum wage or just following the federal guidance or having extremely low sub minimum wages.”