About Mississippi Walk for Law Enforcement
What is the difference between living wages, fair wages and minimum wages?
| City | Population | Number of full-time employees |
Number of part-time employees |
Police Chief Salary |
Police Officer Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest | 5,987 | 76 | 10 | $41,038 | $20,800 |
| Greenwood | 18,425 | 227 | 28 | $51,558 | $20,842 |
| Iuka | 3,059 | 37 | 19 | $38,966 | $18,720 |
| Senatobia | 6,914 | 84 | 1 | $48,000 | $19,117 |
| Waynesboro | 5,197 | 59 | 13 | $49,160 | $19,117 |
Minimum wages are set both nationally and statewide. The minimum wage gives employers a guideline as to the legal minimum amount that can be paid to employees. The minimum wage has served to keep 86% of workers and their families above the poverty line, for a family of four. Today, that percentage has dropped to 64%, in effect leaving 36% of wage earners living at or below the poverty line. The current minimum wage amounts are roughly half of what the projected living wage is in any given area.
Some definitions of the term "living wage:"
- living wage, the hourly wage that, at a minimum, supports a standard of living above the poverty level in a given locality. It differs from the minimum wage, which often provides a less than adequate standard of living. Usually exceeding both federal and state minimum wages, the living wage of any locality is normally set by a law that requires that it be paid to a specific set of workers, often those employed by businesses that have local government contracts or that receive government economic development subsidies. The recipient of a living wage stipend is generally a full-time worker who is expected to support a family (often of four). In normal circumstances, the higher the cost of living in a given locality, the higher the living wage. Living-wage laws are in effect in several European countries, e.g., Great Britain and Switzerland. In the United States, living-wage bills had been enacted by more than 140 cities and counties by 2007. That year Maryland became the first U.S. state to require the payment of a living wage by nearly all profit-making employers with state contracts. (from Columbia Encyclopedia)
- living wage: A wage sufficient to provide minimally satisfactory living conditions. Also called minimum wage. (from Answers.com)
The above information was gathered by The John C. Stennis Institute of Government and can be found online.
