oppression—rather than ameliorating racism—simply serves to deny the realities of racism in the lives of peoples of Color, and the privileges of whiteness for White people.
“Anyone who wants a job can get one.” While it is likely true that
anyone—no matter their level of ability—can get some kind of work, it is not likely that anyone can find work that pays a living wage. In fact, the majority of workers in the United States (59%) work for hourly wages (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016). Of these, 2.6 million workers earn at or below the minimum wage. As an example of classist ideology, the media most often represents the middle class as the majority and politicians speak to the concerns of the middle class. Yet the majority of the United States is better defined as working class or poor.
The U.S. federal minimum wage in 2017 is $7.25 per hour, or $15,080 per year. The federal poverty level for a two-person household is $15,930. Further, federal minimum wage standards are not guaranteed because states can set their own minimum wages. For example, Georgia’s minimum wage is $5.15 per hour, while Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, Louisiana, and Mississippi have no minimum wage at all and employers can pay workers whatever they choose. The federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour has not been raised since 2010 (U.S. Department of Labor, 2017). Between the years 1999 and 2009, it remained at $5.15 per hour. The minimum wage does not include health insurance or retirement benefits, nor does it guarantee full-time work. Further, under section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers are able to pay a wage below the federal minimum wage to workers whose work is affected by a mental or physical disability (the ADA does not change this provision). This means that some workers with disabilities can make significantly less than the minimum wage, in some cases even less than a dollar per hour.
Congress sets the federal minimum wage, and efforts to raise it are regularly defeated by congressional representatives. It is worthy of note that the House of Representatives is 81% male and 80% White and the Senate is 80% male and 94% White (while White men are 34% of the U.S. population). Members of Congress earn $174,000 annually in base salaries. Their salaries include access to a comprehensive health insurance and retirement package. Fifty-one percent of congressional representatives are millionaires (Manning, 2010).
Comparatively, in Canada the minimum wage is set provincially and as of 2014 ranges from 10–11 Canadian dollars (approximately $7.50 USD). Some provinces (such as Saskatchewan and Manitoba) allow persons with