Colfax Community Network

News & Events

Perspective

November 21st, 2006

One day last summer, a woman was walking into Denver Health Medical Center and stopped to admire the beautiful flowers that lined each side of the doorway. She then turned to the man who was digging in the garden and said, “Thank you, sir, for these beautiful flowers! You have made the hospital a much more friendly and welcoming place. I sure appreciate your hard work.” Then she continued on her way.

Amendment 42 passed. With the help of hundreds of volunteers and the understanding of 53% of Colorado voters, the minimum wage has been raised from $5.15 per hour to $6.85 with annual increases tied to inflation rates. It is a crucial first step in eradicating poverty in this state and one that calls for celebration. However, as we celebrate, we should not overlook the fact that while the new minimum wage provides a worker an annual income of $14,250 (for 52 weeks of work), the poverty threshold for a family of four is $19,875 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2005). There is still work to be done.

In America, we are taught from childhood that hard work and persistence is rewarded with prosperity. This belief is a cornerstone of our democracy and a major influence on our attitudes and policies concerning the poor. When we encounter someone who is not prosperous, the assumption is that he/she does not work hard enough. Herein lies a central flaw. Anyone who is familiar with the backbreaking minimum wage jobs available to the marginalized in our society knows that hard work does not equal financial success. In fact, if work were measured by the amount of physical labor put forth, the exact opposite would hold true. The physically harder an individual works, the less they earn and the more likely they are to live in poverty, sustain serious injury on the job and suffer long-term disabilities related to the physical nature of their work.

The time has come for us to value the physically hard work that makes life easier for the rest of us and to demonstrate this appreciation in meaningful ways . We can do this by insisting on a living wage and decent housing for those who build our houses, care for our children, clean our homes, and grow our food. We can do this by ending the invisibility of those who do the “hard” work in our culture. We can do this by saying, “Thank you!”

-Maggie Tidwell