As the debate over minimum wage intensifies nationwide, the spotlight now falls on Texas, where stagnant wages have deepened the struggles of low-income families. Despite economic growth in various sectors, poverty rates persist, casting a shadow over the Lone Star State’s prosperity narrative.
SEE ALSO: New $20 minimum wage for fast food workers in California set to start Monday
Recommended Videos
With the minimum wage unchanged since 2009 at $7.25 per hour, Texans are grappling with the harsh reality of earning wages that fail to keep pace with the rising cost of living. In Harris County and surrounding regions, where poverty rates exceed the state average advocates say the urgency for wage reform becomes increasingly evident. Against this backdrop, community leaders are mobilizing to address the root causes of poverty and push for change in wage policies.
Minimum wage and poverty in Houston
According to the American Community Surveys by the US Census, approximately 11.5 percent of the entire population in the USA is classified as living in poverty when identifying impoverished families.
In an interview with KPRC 2 in Jan. 2024 Cynthia Colbert, the President of Catholic Charities, said that in Texas, the poverty rate stands at 14%, but escalates to over 16% in Harris County. In the three-county region of Fort Bend, Harris, and Montgomery Counties over one million people are living in poverty, said Colbert.
“Now the U.S. every year updates what we call the poverty line and they establish what it is for a family of four and higher each year and the number goes up (each year). But what we know is if you’re making poverty, you know, minimum wage, $7.50 per hour, even $10 per hour in this region, that’s just not enough to get a family of four by with one wage earner. So if you think about people living in poverty here in our area, they’re probably the people who are visiting our countries, those who might be seeking emergency assistance from the various agencies like Catholic Charities, they might be in our church, they might be on our street.”
Colbert explained that when individuals seek assistance from their agency, they see numerous reasons for poverty, such as a family member experiencing a severe healthcare issue, a car accident, or some other catastrophic event that depletes their resources and prevents them from meeting their basic needs.
“Other families find themselves in low wages or no wages. So there are lots of reasons why someone could be living in poverty which could be episodic, or it could be unfortunately generational. But what we know is that with support, a goal, and families setting goals, case managers have been successfully working with people to get jobs, to get their basic needs met, and to be on a path towards greater self-sufficiency,” Colbert said. “As a community, we can come together to help people get an education and or job training, to get jobs and then to find affordable housing, which is one of the barriers to a family (having) self-sufficiency.”
Colbert mentioned that the poverty rate is higher among Latinos, Blacks, and there is a high poverty rate among kids who are aging out of the foster care system.
“There are factors from one’s background or life circumstances that also can cause one to be in poverty. But what we also know is that there are ways to help families out of poverty. What we do have is what we call a wraparound model, what are the needs of the entire family,” Colbert said. “How do we get the kids to stay in school and do well in school? How do we get them stable housing, jobs, other basic supports so that a family can find their way out of poverty and it might take time, but it absolutely is possible.”
Understanding minimum wage laws in Texas
While some states are transitioning towards a $15 base pay, there is growing advocacy in Texas for a similar move. However, Texas last increased its minimum wage in 2009, reaching the current rate of $7.25 per hour.
SEE ALSO: $15 dollar minimum wage: What would it mean?
State minimum wage laws vary across the United States, with some states setting their own minimum wage rates higher than the federal minimum wage. Employers must pay their workers the higher of the two rates—either the state or federal minimum wage. However, Texas does not have its own minimum wage law set by the state legislature. Instead, Texas adopts the federal minimum wage rate by reference, meaning that the minimum wage in Texas is currently set at the federal level of $7.25 per hour. Tipped employees in Texas must receive at least $2.13 per hour in cash wages, with tips supplementing their earnings to meet the minimum wage threshold.
By the numbers: Minimum wage statistics
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, service occupations had the highest proportion of hourly-paid workers earning at or below the federal minimum wage, with approximately 4 percent falling into this category. Nearly three-quarters of workers earning the minimum wage or less in 2022 were employed in service occupations, predominantly in food preparation and serving-related roles. For many of these workers, tips often supplement their hourly wages.
Additionally, the industry with the highest percentage of workers earning hourly wages at or below the federal minimum wage in 2022 was leisure and hospitality, standing at about 7 percent. Approximately three in five workers paid at or below the federal minimum wage were employed in this industry, primarily in restaurants, bars, and other food services.
A significant proportion of minimum wage workers are young, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. While people under the age of 25 made up about one-fifth of hourly paid workers, they accounted for around 45 percent of those earning the federal minimum wage or less. Specifically, approximately 3 percent of employed workers aged 16 to 19 received the minimum wage or less, compared to just under 1 percent of workers aged 25 and above who earned at that level.
SEE ALSO: Mayor Turner signs executive order to raise minimum wage to $15 for Houston airport workers by 2023
How minimum wage affects people across the nation
Alex Miller, a reporting fellow at the Economic Hardship Reporting Project, spoke about how minimum wage affects people across the country.
“The minimum wage is a problem in general because it hasn’t moved a smidge in order to become commensurate with inflation, meanwhile, we’ve never had more billionaires. As of 2022, NYC’s minimum wage is $15. But that’s not saying much because a pack of cigarettes in New York could be $15, depending on where in Manhattan you get them from.
A growing homeless population and contentious immigration policies, as well as vulnerable populations in cities like NYC and Houston, highlight the urgent need for comprehensive solutions in the U.S.
“Our homeless population is ridiculous. Our policy on housing immigrants is atrocious, especially considering that we’re a sanctuary city and our current mayor promised exactly what he’s fighting against,” Miller said. “For the first time in 50 years, we have homeless children openly displayed in New York. Most of them don’t speak English.”