minimum wage

May 13, 2022 - A number of states, including several in the South, are bucking the federal policy that allows companies to pay workers with certain disabilities less than the basic minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. The Biden administration recently took an initial step to address that pay disparity for tens of thousands of disabled workers nationwide, while a bill to end the practice is stalled in Congress.

April 22, 2022 - The recently released "Poor People's Pandemic Report" details how counties with larger percentages of poor people — the vast majority of which are in the South — have been more likely to experience higher death rates during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

March 23, 2022 - Arkansas and Florida are the only Southern states that still allow citizens to place questions on the ballot, but Republican lawmakers there want to erect new barriers to this form of direct democracy.

January 12, 2022 - Over 80 cities, counties, and states will raise their minimum wage this year, thanks to the Fight for $15 movement. But only two of those jurisdictions are in the South. 

June 11, 2021 - The Emory law professor and author of "The Whiteness of Wealth" calls for returning to a progressive income taxation system and establishing a tax credit as compensation for systemic racism. She also argues that simply publishing tax data by race could make the public angry enough to want to change the federal tax system.

April 26, 2021 - A bill to raise North Carolina's minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour has been reintroduced in the state legislature. Among those calling for its passage are certified nursing assistants including Cummie Davis of Chapel Hill, who writes about her experience trying to survive on poverty-level pay while doing an essential job.

March 11, 2021 - We care for your parents, children, and homes. We should make enough to care for our own, too.