Minimum Wage and Poverty

President Obama is supporting a significant raise in the minimum wage, currently $7.25/hour.  The President is advocating an increase to $9.00 an hour, a 24% increase.  The applause line in his speeches on the subject is “no one who works a full time job should have to live in poverty.”  Cue the cheering.

This is actually a claim that can be numerically checked.  So let’s run the numbers.

If you work 40 hours a week for 52 weeks, that comes to 2080 hours.  At $7.25 per hour, you would receive an annual income of $15,080.  But really, nobody gets through a whole year without missing a little work.  Let’s use a more realistic 1800 hours a year for our calculations.  That gives a minimum wage income of $13,050.

Next, let’s check what the official poverty level is.  A quick search provides the following numbers for 2013:

Family of 2: $15510

Family of 3: $19530

Family of 4: $23550

On the face of it, things look like the President may have a point.  Based on the information presented so far, a single mother with even one kid could work full time at minimum wage and still live below the poverty level.

Before we concede the point, however, we need to consider the impact of Federal tax policy, specifically the Earned Income Credit (EIC).  This is money the government gives to low income people, like those making minimum wage.  With $13,050 in wages and one child, the EIC pays out $3169.  With two children, the EIC payout is $5236, and with three children it tops out at %5891.  Things aren’t looking so bleak for our single mother anymore.

But as the old Ronco informercials used to say “Wait, there’s more!”  We haven’t considered the Additional Child Tax Credit yet.  This Federal benefit pays $1000 per child for up to three children.  Once we add the Federal benefits in, the picture changes completely:

Family of 2: $13,050 + 3169 + 1000 = $17,219

Family of 3: $13,050 + 5236 + 2000 = $20,286

Family of 4: $13,050 + 5891 + 3000 = $21,941

The single mother with three children is still below the poverty level, but with one or two children you are now above the line.  Once you plug in food stamps, and maybe even child support (after all, our single mother wasn’t alone when the children were created), and I think you can call the President’s myth busted.

I’m not saying that it wouldn’t be tough to try and make ends meet when you’re close to the poverty line.  I am saying that the claim that you can work full time and still be below the poverty line does not hold water.