Did you know that to afford a lower-end, one-bedroom apartment at 30 percent of your income in Multnomah County you would need to make about $31,960 annually. That’s about $14.88 an hour.
Thinking of something a bit more spacious, maybe with a view? According to a recent report by KGW, you would need to make nearly $62,000 annually to afford a one-bedroom renting for $1,500 a month. That translates to $31 an hour working a 40-hour week.
A person working for the current minimum wage in Oregon right now ($9.25) would need to work about 65 hours a week to afford a one-bedroom on the edge of town. To afford a one-bedroom, $1,500 apartment than it’s a cool 130 hours a week at the current minimum wage.
Is your head spinning yet? Mine is.
During this upcoming legislative session, elected officials in Salem are proposing a $15 minimum wage increase and requiring two weeks sick pay statewide. Hooray! Anything less would be inhumane.
The reality is, if we want poor and working people to support paying for things like a street fee that would help improve transportation in poor neighborhoods, and to support the arts for low-income children in schools, then we have to collectively turn a corner. There are far too many Oregonians having to make hard choices between paying for utilities, health care, food and rent. That’s if you’re lucky enough to have a choice.
Supporting government programs such as housing, the arts and transportation, to name a few, is critical to maintaining a healthy society. Who among us doesn’t want a healthy government supporting a healthy society? I do.
It’s no secret that the gap between the rich and poor, especially in urban environments, is at an all-time high. We could talk about the need for nearly 40,000 affordable housing units in the metro area, or the fact that some people are uncomfortable about people sleeping in our parks and on our sidewalks. It makes me uncomfortable too. We could talk about the realities of raising a child on your own, or having to work three jobs to make ends meet. In fact, we can talk about our poverty until we are blue in the face, but what we really want to talk about is simply a raise.
Raising our minimum wage to $15 an hour will not deter the creation and success of small businesses. It will not hamper our nonprofit sector. It will not stop big businesses from making record-breaking profits this year. It’s not the end of the world for the free market. It’s simply giving working Oregonians a fighting chance to have access to the wages they deserve and the chance to improve their quality of life.
It was great to see Multnomah County and Home Forward increase their in-house minimum wages to $15 an hour. Now it’s time for Portland to not only support its own workers, but require that we all do the same.
There will be a rally for the $15 minimum wage on Saturday, Jan. 24, at high noon at the Oregon State Capitol. Be there, or at the very least, let your voice be heard. Oregon wants a raise!