Letters: Working families need a raise

Working families need a raise

Benjamin Jealous' commentary struck a chord with Philabundance and the Coalition Against Hunger, as agencies that serve countless people who are working - often more than one job - and still struggling to make ends meet.

In the majority of the households we serve, at least one person has held a job in the last year. From child-care and home-care workers who spend all day taking care of people, to restaurant and fast-food workers who spend their days helping to feed others, many come home to an empty refrigerator and a hungry family. Their wages, combined with limited or nonexistent benefits and sick leave, make it impossible to cover all of the basics - housing, utilities, transportation, health-care, child-care, and food. Food is often the first part of a budget people in need cut, so they end up at our network of food pantries and soup kitchens.

We agree that "a full-time job should be enough to keep a family above the poverty line." We stand with working families who desperately need a higher minimum wage.

|Glenn Bergman, executive director, Philabundance, and Laura Wall, executive director, Coalition Against Hunger, Philadelphia

Why come off welfare?

I must agree with Benjamin Jealous that the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour borders on slavery and is a disgrace. With all the reasons he put forth for raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour, he left out that it is a drain on the economy. Why would anyone consider going off welfare or workers' compensation when those programs pay more than the minimum wage?

The ubiquitous fast-food emporiums will not go out of business if they raise their prices slightly, and no fast-food gourmet will abandon his or her passion because of the increase. Other marginal businesses may need to sharpen their pencils. In theory, we got rid of sweat shops, but, in practice, we apparently have not.

|Ralph D. Bloch, Rydal, ralphdbloch@yahoo.com