Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the many ways our lives are enriched by others. For New York, I believe It is time to finally give minimum wage earners the thanks they deserve for the vital goods and services they supply our communities. Despite working hard, too many don't earn enough to afford the basic necessities. They end up making painstaking choices between putting food on the table and paying the rent.
Faith and religion offer not only a moral navigation system, but a practical guide for creating better communities and societies as well. A core belief of the Catholic tradition is that remuneration for work should guarantee the worker an opportunity to provide a dignified livelihood for oneself and one's family on the material, social, cultural, and spiritual level.
That is why I stand firmly in support of raising the minimum wage to at least $8.50 with annual indexing to adjust for inflation. Indexing the minimum wage as 10 states already do is especially important for breaking out of New York's harmful pattern of long periods between wage increases.
In New York, a full-time worker earning minimum wage will earn $15,080, living below the poverty level for a family of three. When full-time workers cannot afford to purchase healthy food, pay rent and access vital health care, their wages are unjust.
When workers must labor day and night, in multiple jobs, to piece together a livable income, their wages are unjust.
When workers suffer the enduring consequences of poverty such as ill health, impeded educational achievement, and housing instability their wages are unjust.
Catholic social teaching tells us that the economy must serve people, not the other way around. Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of continuing participation in God's creation. Employers contribute to the common good through the services or products they provide and by creating jobs that uphold the dignity and rights of workers.
Workers also have responsibilities — to provide a fair day's work for a fair day's pay, to treat employers and co-workers with respect, and to carry out their work in ways that contribute to the common good.
If the minimum wage is raised to $8.50, 880,000 workers in New York would directly get a raise, while another 200,000 who have wages just above the proposed new minimum would also see a wage increase as employers adjust overall pay structures. This translates into more than $600 million in additional economic activity, which means more jobs, according to an analysis by the Fiscal Policy Institute.
By raising the minimum wage, we begin to discern the path toward dignity and respect for all members of our society that faith and justice demands. We also make the practical choice to balance wages and boost the economy. The working people and lagging economy of New York cannot wait any longer.
I urge the governor and Legislature to address this pressing issue either in a special session this year or as a priority item in 2013. That would give all New Yorkers something for which to be grateful.
Howard J. Hubbard is bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany.