Living Wage Vs. Minimum Wage: What's The Difference?

​On a day-to-day basis, everyone must meet their primary needs such as shelter, food, family services, and medical management. Under the current model, the Minimum Wage is set high enough to ensure an economic floor. It ensures that workers are paid a living wage and prevents tumbling over to poverty regardless of their workplace.

Living Wage
A living wage is a standard set for a person's basic needs to survive, such as housing, clothing, shelter, transportation, food, etc. It emphasizes ensuring that a wage is sufficient. And it's not simply a matter of wages being sufficient to cover the basics. 

How Living Wages Work
The living wage ensures that minimum wage workers can access the resources they need to sustain themselves. Wages are divided into two different categories: hourly and salary.

1. Hourly wages- workers receive per hour worked and don't factor in the benefits offered by employers. 
2. Salary wages- benefits such as health insurance, paid time off, and additional allowances. You are always paid the same amount no matter how many hours you work. 

Minimum Wage
Minimum Wage is the lowest set amount of money a person is paid for doing work. In the labor market, employers look for people to do things for the lowest amount of pay. It's true. Most people's work, such as cleaning, hospitality, retail, and other low-paid jobs, are not paying enough to survive on the bare economic floor.

What is the Problem with Minimum Wage?
The problem with minimum wage is that it is not high enough to ensure people can meet their basic needs. It would be best if you had a high enough minimum wage to provide a worker with a decent income for the hours they're at work. An increase in the minimum wage results in a decrease in poverty and fewer people without healthcare coverage. 

Campaign for Increasing Wages
Wage campaigns involve changing the culture to increase awareness that the current standard for wages isn't sufficient to ensure a basic standard of living. A movement to raise wages is to ensure workers aren't surviving on scraps. They push the employer to agree to a living wage and bring awareness of the existing standards to the public.

When we raise wages, we're raising people out of poverty and getting the economy moving. 

At UG Insurance Brokerage Inc., we aim to provide comprehensive insurance policies that make your life easier. We want to help you get the insurance that fits your needs. You can get more information about our products and services by calling our agency at (718) 848-7777. Get your free quote today by CLICKING HERE.