Rader Ignored Obstacles Poor Face

This letter is in response to Silas Rader's counterpoint ("Don't Neglect Inflation," Oct. 27). As a possible solution to the thousands of minimum-wage workers who find themselves barely holding on, Rader advises them to "find a better job" -- as if the answer were so simple.

For years, the poor have been pegged as lazy individuals who are eager to accept government handouts. In reality, minimum-wage workers are some of the hardest working people that make up the work force, sometimes holding down two or three jobs, and performing tasks that are often dehumanizing and physically exhausting. Still, at the end of the day, they have virtually no financial stability.

Rader states that most minimum-wage workers are students and dropouts, implying that workers can expect to move up from these low-paying positions throughout their lifetime. In 2002, the U.S. Department of Labor found that 56,539 minimum-wage workers were 25 and older. In many cases adult workers are trying to support spouses and children on their meager paychecks.

The old adage "work hard and you'll get ahead" seems to underlie much of Rader's ill-formed argument. This theory fails to consider the many obstacles the poor face in finding higher paying jobs: lack of education, poor mobility and broken homes which occur generation after generation.

Rader writes "If you worked hard in high school, got a decent scholarship to a good university and went on to get a master's, you can anticipate a respectable salary." How presumptuous to assume that everyone has this option. First, many scholarships go hand-in-hand with high academic performance. For numerous reasons - learning disabilities, pressure to work, and living in a household that may not prioritize education - students' grades may suffer, making scholarships that much more unattainable. With minimum-wage workers earning less than $11,000 annually, how can youngsters or older students possibly afford four years of college, let alone a master's degree? Sadly, the desire for many to earn a degree is completely botched by the need to put food on the table, and school unfortunately falls by the wayside. This doesn't mean that the working poor don't want an education or that they don't desire higher paying jobs. Next time you're convinced that all our nation's problems would be solved if the poor just "pulled themselves up by their bootstraps," just ask yourself this: Does anyone really want to be poor?

The bottom line is that the minimum wage should have been raised a long time ago, giving workers a chance at a better life.