The True Picture of Minimum Wage Workers

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: 63 percent of minimum-wage workers receive raises within one year of employment, and only 15 percent still earn the minimum wage after three years. Moreover, only 3 percent of all hourly workers and 2 percent of wage and salary earners earn minimum wages. Most minimum wage earners are young – 53 percent are between the ages of 16 and 24.

Furthermore, only 5.3 percent of minimum-wage earners are from households below the official poverty line; 40 percent of minimum-wage earners live in households with incomes of $60,000 and higher, and over 82 percent of minimum-wage earners do not have dependents.

Excerpted from an article by Walter E. Williams, located at

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47644