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THANK YOU. HOW MANY OF US WOULD TURN DOWN A PAY RAISE?
I'M SURE MOST OF US WOULD SAY, ARE YOU CRAZY? WELL, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, FOR
THOUSANDS OF LOW INCOME PARENTS IN OUR BI-STATE AREA, GETTING EVEN 25 CENTS MORE AN HOUR IS A
TERRIFYING PROPOSITION, BECAUSE IT MEANS THEY WILL LOSE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS A MONTH IN
DAY CARE SUBSIDIES FOR THEIR CHILDREN. PRODUCER RICH MILLER HEADED OVER
TO OUR AREA'S LARGEST LOW INCOME DAY CARE CENTER, OPERATION BREAKTHROUGH, TO TALK WITH THREE
MOTHERS ABOUT THIS EXTRA EXTRAOY ISSUE OF THE LOW WAGE TRAP WHERE TO BETTER YOURSELF WOULD
ACTUALLY MAKE YOU WORSE OFF. IF I MADE 11.29 AN HOUR, I WOULD QUALIFY FOR CHILD CARE IN
MISSOURI. IF I MADE 11.30 AN HOUR, ONE PENNY MORE, ONE PENNY, IF I MADE
ONE PENNY MORE AT 11:30 AN HOUR, ME AND MY TWO KIDS NO LONGER QUALIFY FOR CHILD CARE IN
MISSOURI, ONE PENNY. YOU KNOW WHAT THAT ONE PENNY DOES TO ME IN MY YEARLY INCOME?
$20.08. MOST PEOPLE SAY, YOU KNOW, AS THEY LISTEN TO ME SPEAK THAT
DEBUNK A LOT OF STEREOTYPES, NOT HE LAZY, NOT UNEDUCATED. IT'S NOT FUN HAVING YOUR LIFE
RANG THROUGH SOMEBODY'S CHECKS AND BALANCES AND DETERMINED THROUGH BLACK AND BLUE INK AND
FOOD STAMP APPLICATION. I LOST MY JOB, GOT ANOTHER JOB, STARTED MAKING MINIMUM
WAGE. BUT I ALMOST HAVE A COLLEGE DEGREE, BUT IF I MAKE TOO MUCH
MONEY, I CAN'T SUPPORT MY FAMILY, AND I LOSE EVERYTHING, LIKE I DID BEFORE.
SO I'M IN A CATCH-22. I REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. BECAUSE I CAN'T AFFORD TO PAY
FOR DAY CARE FOR FOUR KIDS, AND I CAN'T AFFORD TO PAY $800 A MONTH IN RENT, AND ALL UTILITIES
AND CAR INSURANCE AND THEN GAS AND THEN CLOTHES AND SHOES AND FOOD.
YOU KNOW, IT JUST BECOMES THIS BURDEN OF WHEN YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING BETTER, YOU'RE REALLY NOT.
WE HAVE WOMEN THAT DON'T TAKE RAISES. THEY DON'T TAKE PROMOTIONS.
THEY DON'T TAKE OVERTIME, BECAUSE THEY WOULD LOSE MORE THAN WE GET, AND IF ANY OF US,
THE BOSS SAID, I AM GOING TO GIVE YOU A RAISE, WE WOULD SAY, PLEASE, DON'T GIVE ME A RAISE.
IT WOULD CAUSE TOO MANY PROBLEMS FOR ME. NONE OF US WOULD REFUSE A RAISE
OR A PROMOTION, YET THESE WOMEN ARE EXPECTED TO. WELL, THEY'RE NOT EXPECTED TO.
THEY HAVE TO IF THEY WANT TO KEEP CHILD CARE. THESE WOMEN WANT TO WORK, BUT
NOW THEY HAVE JOBS WHERE THEY CAN'T MAKE ENOUGH TO LIVE ON, AND THEN WE CRITICIZE THEM FOR
NOT LIVING BETTER THAN THEY ARE, AND THEY'RE DOING THE BEST THEY CAN.
WE HAD A MOTHER LIVE FOR ONE WEEK ON A BUS STOP IN THIS CITY WITH A 2-YEAR-OLD AND
3-YEAR-OLD. SHE DROPPED THE KIDS AT 6:00 IN THE MORNING AND PICKED THEM UP
AT 6:00 AT NIGHT AND NEVER MISSED A DAY OF WORK. I SAID TO HER, DO YOU STAY AT A
BUS STOP AROUND HERE? AND SHE SAID, IT'S NOT SAFE AT THE BUS STOPS AROUND HERE.
I SAID, IS THERE A SAFE BUS STOP IN THIS CITY? SHE SAID IN THE POWER AND LIGHT
DISTRICT. IF I STAYED AT A BUS STOP ALL NIGHT, I WOULD HAVE CALLED WORK
AND SAID, I WON'T BE THERE, I HAVE A REALLY ROUGH TIME. SHE WENT EVERY SINGLE DAY TO A
FAST FOOD RESTAURANT AND WORKED. THESE ARE NOT LAZY PEOPLE. I WAS PROMOTED TO SHIFT
MANAGER, AND I WAS STILL MAKING 6.50 AN HOUR. WHEN I BUMPED UP A QUARTER TO
6.75, IT TOOK ME TWO YEARS TO GET THAT RAISE, FROM 6.50 TO 6.75.
I BEGGED HER FOR SIX MONTHS TO GET ME UP TO 7, AND SHE LOOKED AT ME AND SHE SAID, YOU'RE NOT
WORTH 7. IT DESTROYS FAMILIES AND ANY HOPE TO GET AHEAD.
I DON'T KNOW HOW IT NEEDS TO BE WORKED OUT SO IT WILL WORK. I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY THE WAY IT'S
PLANNED WOULDN'T FINANCIALLY PAY FOR IT. THEY'VE GOT TO GET RID OF THESE
CLIFFS AND MAKE IT A SLOPE AND LOSE A LITTLE, LOSE A LITTLE MORE WHEN I GET ANOTHER RAISE,
NOT, YOU'RE DONE. AND WE COULD DO THAT IF WE WANTED TO.
THERE WAS A BILL ON THE FLOOR. GOVERNOR NIXON, THANK YOU,
POLITELY VETOED IT, BUT THEY WERE GOING TO ALLOW, IF YOU GOT THAT RAISE, HALF OF YOUR RAISE
WOULD THEREFORE GO FOR YOUR CHILD CARE EXPENSES, AND HALF OF THAT RAISE WOULD BE LEFT TO YOU,
SO THAT YOU COULD STAIR STEP YOURSELF DOWN. A REPUBLICAN SENATOR PASSED
THE ONE ABOUT -- I MEAN, HE INTRODUCED IT. WE TALKED TO HIM ABOUT IT AND
SAID WE WERE VERY SUPPORTIVE OF IT. IT GOT PASSED BY THE
APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE IN JEFF CITY, AND THEN IT WAS VETOED. STATE WORKERS ARE TELLING OUR
MOTHERS -- LET'S SAY I HAVE ONE KID, AND I GOT A RAISE, AND I'VE LOST CHILD CARE.
WE'VE HAD STATE WORKERS TELL MOTHERS, HAVE ANOTHER BABY, AND YOU'LL BE ELIGIBLE, WHICH IS
TRUE. IT'S CRAZY. WE NEED TO LOOK AT THESE
NUMBERS. THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THIS STATE THAT ARE SO BRIGHT.
LOOK AT THESE NUMBERS AND SEE, COULD YOU LIVE ON THIS? COULD YOU LIVE LIKE THIS.
IT FEELS GOOD TO BE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THINGS, BUT THEN WHEN THE REALITY SETS IN THAT
YOU NEED THEM, YOU KNOW, BUT YOU'RE MAKING TOO MUCH MONEY SO YOU HAVE TO DOWNPLAY WHO YOU ARE
AND YOUR SKILL LEVEL IN ORDER TO MAKE IT THROUGH TODAY OR MAKE IT THROUGH THE YEAR OR MAKE IT
THROUGH THE YEAR, YOU KNOW, IT IS CRAZY. IT'S CRAZY.
I THINK ONE OF THE PROBLEMS IN THIS CITY IS THAT IT'S VERY ECONOMICALLY SEGREGATED.
PEOPLE SHOP WITH THEIR OWN ECONOMIC GROUPS. THEY GO TO CHURCH WITH THEIR
OWN. THE GROUPS NEED TO MIX AND UNDERSTAND THAT WE'RE JUST LIKE
EACH OTHER. I WANT THEM TO WORK AND LIVE ON A MINIMUM WAGE SALARY FOR AT
LEAST A WEEK AND SEE HOW QUICK THOSE CHANGES HAPPEN IN WASHINGTON.
LET THEM WORK FOR MINIMUM WAGE AND SEE HOW QUICK THOSE CHANGES HAPPEN, JUST FOR A WEEK.
THEY'RE NOT GOING TO DO IT. THEY'RE NOT GOING TO DO IT. THEY WOULDN'T WORK FOR MINIMUM
WAGE FOR TWO DAYS. THEY WOULDN'T DO IT, NOT ONE OF THEM.
, NOT ONE OF THEM. NOT ONE OF THEM. I'M PICTURING STEAM RISING