Living on Minimum Wage

At least one part of the labor force has expanded significantly since the recession hit: the low-wage part, made up of burger flippers, home health aides and the like.
Put simply, the recession took middle-class jobs, and the recovery has replaced them with low-income ones, a trend that has exacerbated income inequality. According to Labor Department data, about 1.7 million workers earned the minimum wage or less in 2007. By 2012, the total had surged to 3.6 million, with millions of others earning just a few cents or dollars more.
In his State of the Union address in February, President Obama made raising the federal minimum wage his banner economic proposal. The White House argued that increasing the wage to $9 an hour from its current $7.25 and indexing it to inflation would lift hundreds of thousands of families above the poverty line.
Combined with tax measures the administration has supported, Alan B. Krueger, the departing chairman of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, said that raising the minimum wage would undo “a lot of the rise in inequality we’ve seen over the last 20 years.”

But the proposal has gone nowhere. Democrats in Congress put forward a bill raising the minimum wage to more than $10 an hour, and their Republican counterparts voted it down.
Many conservatives and some economists say that raising the cost of employing workers results in fewer workers. “What happens when you take away the first couple of rungs on the economic ladder, you make it harder for people to get on,” John A. Boehner, the House speaker, has said.
Mr. Krueger disagrees. His work with David Card of the University of California, Berkeley (later replicated by others) demonstrated in a real-life experiment that raising the minimum wage did not result in businesses shedding workers, perhaps in part because it helped reduce turnover.
But for now, it seems the minimum will stay where it is. Because of inflation, the minimum wage loses value over time if it is not bumped up. Accounting for inflation’s effects, it is now worth less than in the 1960s and 70s. And, as the people pictured here can attest, getting by on it — whether the federal minimum or a state version, which can be somewhat higher — is getting harder.
—Annie Lowrey

Dilip Vishwanat for The New York Times

Ashely Sanders, 20, St. Louis

Where she works: Hardee's

“I have bills to pay, and I need to provide the necessities for my son. He’s 6 months old.
“I get food stamps; they help to feed the five other adults in my household, too. I want to move out of my mom’s house, but it’s difficult to put pennies aside. I plan to return to cosmetology school, but I need to find a better job.”

Bryan Thomas for The New York Times

Denis Belioglo, 19, Queens, N.Y.

Where he works: Telco Stores

“I came to New York from Moldova with my mother and younger brother about six months ago. We live with my grandparents. My mother is ill and can’t work. My grandmother works and my grandfather gets food stamps. I have a green card and was lucky enough to find a job as a stock attendant through the Edith and Carl Marks Jewish Community House.
“As an immigrant, getting that first job is important. It has also improved my English. If I made more money, it would be easier to go to school.”

Khalim Bhatti for The New York Times

Anita Braden, 40, Camp Hill, Pa.

Where she works: Fire Mountain Restaurant

“I’m a cashier and bakery worker in a restaurant and a single mother. Four of my five children and one grandchild live with me. I get food stamps, and I’m trying to get more hours. My boyfriend has moved in to help me. I’m always stressed. I worry about everything, and that stress gets passed on to my kids. They want to work to try and help me. It breaks my heart.”

Bryan Thomas for The New York Times

Kevin Meagher, 53, Austin, Tex.

Where he works: First Workers' Day Labor Center and Labor Ready

“I have a college education and then some, and I can’t find a full-time job at present. Minimum wage is not enough to have a decent standard of living in Austin. I’m lucky because I rent a room from a friend for less than the market rate. I also take part in medical studies for extra money. I never thought I’d be doing that.”

Bryan Thomas for The New York Times

Amin Arnold, 25, Manhattan

Where he works: Guitar Center

“I produce electronic dance music. My goal is to be a full-time musician, but for now I work as a salesperson. New York City is a good place for an artist, but it’s extremely difficult living here. One of my colleagues is sharing a bedroom. I’m living with a family member here, but it’s still tough after I pay rent and buy food.
“I was in college until I had to drop out because of finances. There’s no way I can save to return to school and find better work.”

Jeffrey Phelps for The New York Times

Marvin Jones, 45, Milwaukee

Where he works: McDonald's

“I’m a maintenance man at McDonald’s. When my grandbabies come over on the weekend, I spend on them, making sure that they eat and are comfortable. I eat McDonald’s the last two weeks of the month because I have no food left.”

Because of a production error, an earlier version of this article referred incorrectly to a Democratic proposal in Congress to raise the minimum wage. The legislation called for raising it to more than $10 an hour, not “all the way to $10 an hour.” The article also misstated the historical course of the minimum wage when adjusted for inflation. Though it is now worth less than it was in the 1960s and ’70s, it is not at its lowest point since 1981.