People who work deserve fair payment.  That is an American value.  If you pay attention to people taking your orders, waiting on you, or otherwise working in low-wage jobs, you know that not all of them are young people. There are many adults working for minimum wage and trying to make a living. They’re called the working poor, because the current minimum wage is not a living wage. Many require government assistance to get by. In other words, we the taxpayers are subsidizing businesses so they can reap higher profits.

If Costco can pay their workers a living wage, well above the current minimum wage, and still be a successful business, why can’t Walmart and the other mega-corporations? When their employees depend on assistance from government programs to survive, the corporations are being subsidized by tax dollars.  Why? So they can rake in even more money for their billionaire owners? Is that fair?

And why shouldn’t younger employees receive a fair wage? They work hard, and they may want to go to college or get married and raise a family some day.

Whatever happened to the American ethic of fair pay for workers? Henry Ford figured it out a century ago.  Raise pay for your workers and they can afford to purchase your products. Raising the minimum wage to a more livable wage will stimulate the economy; workers will have more to spend in the local economy, driving up demand, and resulting in more people employed.

It’s time to stop supporting the billionaires whose henchmen spread lies and distortions to maintain their domination of our lives. It’s time to support the working people. Worker productivity has steadily increased for decades, while worker pay has stagnated or declined. It’s time to stand up for American values. It’s time to remind your representatives that they work for you, not the 1 percent, and demand they raise the minimum wage to a livable wage!

Gniadek is a resident of Columbia Falls.