Access Justice

A current issue Congress is facing is the minimum wage increase debate. With the cost of living rising and wages staying the same, it is becoming increasingly difficult for millions of people to afford the basic essentials. The Minnesota House of Representatives recently passed a measure to increase minimum wage to as high as $9.50 per hour by 2015. However, the state Senate passed their own version of the bill which would only increase the wage to $7.75 per hour. That’s only a 50 cent increase from the current federal minimum wage. There is currently a disconcerting amount of low-wage jobs in the U.S. This creates millions of financially strained workers who can barely afford to feed their families. More than 90,000 people in Minnesota earn less $7.25 or less per hour. The legislature will meet for a short session February 25^th, 2014, where they will discuss raising the state’s minimum wage. There are high hopes that the minimum wage in Minnesota will increase within the next year, but question remains; will it be sufficient enough for a family to meet their day-to-day needs?

The gap between the rich and the poor is dramatically growing. With income levels too low for citizens to even access basic rights to the justice system, Access Justice hopes to provide hardworking Americans, who receive low-wage income, a fair chance to defend what is lawfully theirs.