Post by ck4829 on Feb 11, 2018 12:39:50 GMT
Minimum wage earners struggle more in Pennsylvania than in neighboring states
Living off of a wage that's near the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour carries a lot of irony.
Low wages force people to live from paycheck to paycheck but also to plan ahead — sometimes months ahead — for things those who earn better wages take for granted, such as buying birthday and Christmas presents, said Samantha Gouldner, 39, of Hunker.
“Every time I try to put a little bit of money aside, there's always something that needs to be bought,” she said.
Living this way means “you have no future,” Gouldner said.
The Army veteran is raising two daughters, ages 2 and 1, and works part time while taking classes at Westmoreland County Community College. She hopes to find a job that pays better than the ones she found after a divorce and a subsequent abusive relationship that left her living at a domestic violence shelter.
Among its neighboring states, Pennsylvania is the only one that relies on the federal minimum wage to set the floor for pay.
triblive.com/local/westmoreland/13242742-74/minimum-wage-earners-struggle-more-in-pennsylvania-than-in-neighboring-states
Living off of a wage that's near the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour carries a lot of irony.
Low wages force people to live from paycheck to paycheck but also to plan ahead — sometimes months ahead — for things those who earn better wages take for granted, such as buying birthday and Christmas presents, said Samantha Gouldner, 39, of Hunker.
“Every time I try to put a little bit of money aside, there's always something that needs to be bought,” she said.
Living this way means “you have no future,” Gouldner said.
The Army veteran is raising two daughters, ages 2 and 1, and works part time while taking classes at Westmoreland County Community College. She hopes to find a job that pays better than the ones she found after a divorce and a subsequent abusive relationship that left her living at a domestic violence shelter.
Among its neighboring states, Pennsylvania is the only one that relies on the federal minimum wage to set the floor for pay.
triblive.com/local/westmoreland/13242742-74/minimum-wage-earners-struggle-more-in-pennsylvania-than-in-neighboring-states