Raising the minimum wage would be a positive step in reducing

Hear the words of Ron Crumpton, spoken with compassion and fire: “Raising the minimum wage would be a positive step in reducing poverty, the humiliation of living in poverty, and dependence on public assistance.” In this declaration lies more than policy—it is the cry of justice, the recognition that labor must not only sustain the body but uphold the dignity of the soul. For poverty is not merely the lack of bread, but the weight of humiliation, the silent wound of being told one’s work is worth less than survival itself.

The meaning of the minimum wage is not simply numbers etched upon law but the measure of society’s regard for its workers. To raise it is to declare that the sweat of the laborer, the patience of the caregiver, the strength of the builder, and the service of the humble are all worthy of a life beyond despair. To refuse it is to chain the worker to dependence, forcing them to seek alms from the state or suffer in silence. Crumpton’s words remind us that poverty is not only hunger but shame, and that lifting wages is not only economics but a restoration of honor.

The ancients knew that justice in the marketplace is the foundation of peace. Did not the prophet Amos thunder against those who “sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals”? Did not Aristotle himself write that the polis exists so citizens may live not only to survive but to live well? To deny workers a fair wage is to reduce them to shadows in their own land; to grant them dignity is to strengthen the very pillars of the nation.

History, too, bears witness to this truth. In the early 20th century, American workers in coal mines and factories toiled long hours for wages that barely bought bread. They were trapped in cycles of humiliation and dependence, their children barefoot, their futures dim. But when labor movements rose and demanded higher wages, when governments heeded their cries, millions were lifted from despair into stability. It was not charity that saved them, but justice—wages that matched the dignity of their labor. From this came stronger families, healthier communities, and the hope of a better tomorrow.

Crumpton’s words, then, are not a plea for luxury, but a call for balance. For no society can endure when wealth gathers only at the top and the base is starved. A tree with strong branches but rotting roots will fall; so too a nation that ignores its workers. Raising the wage is a step, not the final answer, but a step that turns humiliation into self-respect, dependency into independence, despair into hope.

The lesson is clear: justice is measured not by how a society treats the strong, but by how it lifts the weak. To pay a fair wage is to affirm the sacredness of work, to declare that every person’s labor carries dignity. When wages rise, so too rises the spirit of the people, and the nation itself stands taller, rooted in equity rather than exploitation.

Practical wisdom flows from this teaching. Support policies that raise and protect fair wages. Honor the work of others by recognizing its worth, whether in speech, in trade, or in action. If you are an employer, see not only the cost of wages but the value of lives sustained by them. And if you are a worker, know that your labor is not shameful, but a foundation upon which society itself rests. Stand firm in the belief that dignity in work is not a privilege, but a right.

Thus, Ron Crumpton’s words endure as both prophecy and guidance: to raise wages is to raise the people themselves. It is a step toward reducing poverty, yes, but also toward healing humiliation and breaking the chains of dependence. Let future generations remember that a society that honors its workers is a society that prospers, for the strength of its people is the strength of its soul.