Low wages, high costs

Maria Fernandes died quietly in her 2001 Kia Sportage parked near a Wawa in Elizabeth, N.J. The 32-year-old from Newark had pulled into a parking lot for a nap. Police say she was overcome by fumes from a gas can she kept in the car in case she ran out of fuel as she commuted among low-wage jobs at three different Dunkin' Donuts franchises. But she was also overcome by a toxic economic system in which someone willing to work so hard couldn't find a full-time job that paid enough to survive.

Fernandes was buried on Friday. The day before, hundreds of low-wage workers were arrested in protests outside popular fast-food restaurants around the country as they called for a higher minimum wage. There was no stated connection between the protests and Fernandes' death, but the workers share her inability to make a decent living no matter how many hours they work. Fernandes is an extreme example of the suffering of a large American workforce trying to get by on a pittance.

Last week's protests marked a change in tactics since the demonstrations started with a few pickets outside a McDonald's in New York two years ago. This time, workers blocked streets in that city, Philadelphia, Chicago, Las Vegas, and dozens of other locations.

They risked arrest because their situation has only worsened, and few in power seem to care that some of them can't even afford enough food. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that 14.6 percent of Americans lack adequate sustenance. And that doesn't even take into account the full impact of a mean-spirited $5 billion reduction of food-stamp funding in November.

Democrats in the U.S. Senate have discussed yet another vote on raising the country's $7.25-an-hour minimum wage, but it would be a worthless election-year stunt. The House won't even take up the legislation.

Advocates for low-wage workers have had more success in state legislatures. Thirteen states, including New Jersey, raised their minimum wages as of January. Activists have also turned to municipal governments such as Seattle's, which recently raised that city's minimum wage to $15.

But there is little hope of such a move in Pennsylvania and many other states, which is why Washington politicians should follow the workers' lead and change their tactics. Just as the protesters have been willing to face arrest, the politicians who say they support them must take risks. They can't be satisfied with going on the campaign trail following a symbolic vote and saying "I fought for you." Voters shouldn't be satisfied with that, either.