Story by Gaius Straka, reporter
Abraham Benski has found a solution to the minimum wage issue, or so he proposes.
A former ACC student, Benski developed a proposal to raise the national minimum wage primarily affecting middle class U.S. citizens. However, his proposal has not yet been submitted for review to any member of a legislative body.
“If a person’s working full-time, regardless of the job they are working, they should be able to live a decent life,” Benski said.
Benski believes that Bernie Sanders’ proposal of raising the current minimum wage to $15 an hour is plausible. To achieve this, Benski proposes reallocating 1 percent of the military budget.
“Simply and clearly, the military budget is the largest portion where the federal funds are being allocated,” Benski said.
His proposal would eventually eliminate governmental programs such as food stamps and federal housing. The funds would be redirected towards raising the minimum wage through what he called an “incentivised buffer program” where states would apply for funding based on local inflation. Benski emphasized taking gradual action in redirecting the funds.
Win Win Po, a current ACC student, sees things differently. In reaction to Benski’s proposal, Po answered inconclusively saying that the plan is effective overall, but does not approve of ending social programs as a means of funding.
Businesses with more than 100 employees would not receive a buffer program. Instead the government would expect large businesses to tighten wage disparities between upper and lower level employees.
Use of a business’s tax information would certify that employers filing for assistance had a legitimate business with U.S. citizens as employees.
Taryn Bias, an ACC recreational therapy major agrees. “I like the idea because it discourages illegal aliens.” However, Bias also said that raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour is too much.
Benski put forward the proposal because raising “the national minimum wage would be empowering,” he said. Benski hopes his proposal will be enacted by being noticed.