Why We Need $15
Maryland’s current minimum wage of $13.25 an hour, or approximately $27.560 a year for a full-time worker, is far too low for workers to make ends meet. While many families have been treading water financially, the cost of necessities like housing, child care and health care continue to rise. In fact, there is nowhere in Maryland where a single full-time working adult can meet their basic needs making less than $15 per hour. While $15 per hour still doesn’t constitute a living wage, this is a meaningful step toward establishing economic security for workers in Maryland.
The Need
The challenge is even greater for families raising children who face high costs for things like child care and diapers on top of other basic living expenses. Today, 1 in 10 kids in Maryland has a parent earning less than $15 per hour.
A large body of research shows that when families earn enough to afford the basics, the benefits ripple out to nearly every part of their lives. A 2013 systematic review of academic literature linked higher family incomes to:
- Fewer families struggling to put food on the table
- Increased spending on children’s clothing, reading materials, and toys
- Fewer behavioral problems, less physical aggression, and less anxiety among children
- Improved academic and cognitive test results, and more years of schooling completed
Who Benefits?
A $15 wage will benefit workers, businesses and the economy:
- Increasing Maryland’s minimum wage would make a significant difference to close to 217,000 workers who would see greater economic security — they would not have to decide between paying rent, affording health care or putting food on the table.
- Paying fair wages helps big and small businesses attract and retain good employees, increase sales and revenues, and hire more people.
- A family-sustaining minimum wage would strengthen the state’s economy. It will boost businesses through increased spending: Higher wages create economic activity as families spend more on food, clothing and other needs.