Waiting on the Senate

Letter to the Editor
By Angela L. Stipe, student
Patriot News, Apr 26 2006

As a senior in high school, minimum wage jobs are my only option. It is almost funny to me (almost being the key word) that even though I am not out on my own with bills up to my eyeballs, as many minimum wage workers are, I still cannot afford many of my expenses with the current minimum wage.

Who in their right mind decided that minimum wage workers could make a living off a measly $5.15 per hour? If a full-time minimum wage worker worked 40 hours a week year round, they would be making less than $11,000 per year. Honestly, what single person who is living on their own can pay their bills every month with a yearly gross income that is less than $11,000? I think we all know the answer to that one.

If the state Senate does not pass the bill for a minimum wage increase, I hope they are prepared to deal with a ridiculous number of disgruntled Pennsylvanians. $5.15 per hour is just not cutting it.

Angela L. Stipe
Camp Hill