According to brookings.edu “….53 million Americans between the ages of 18 to 64—accounting for 44% of all workers—qualify as “low-wage.” Their median hourly wages are $10.22.” The sheer number of Americans that have low-wage jobs, is the very reason why the government needs to do far more to provide material assistance to those low-wage workers, along with making it a top priority to see that the minimum wage for employed workers is raised substantially for them, and as soon as possible. The fact that there are so many low-wage workers in America with incomes that clearly don’t represent a living wage, is indicative that labor unions are no longer a material factor in America, and in absence of vibrant and effective labor unions, the national government has itself a duty to step in and see to it, that those that work, should receive compensation which is commensurate with a living wage.
The fact of the matter is that a significant swath of Americans is lacking in the power to negotiate the wages that they are going to be paid, and in absence of any meaningful regulations that will provide such to those that need it, they thus find themselves falling ever further behind, by virtue of the fact that the minimum wage over the years has neither kept in step with inflation, or productivity growth. In this same time, it is quite obvious that the superrich have themselves gotten ever richer, which is the direct consequence of taxing policies which are ineffective, as well as the fact that the government favors the elite, over the regular people; which probably has a lot to do with those that have lots and lots of money having both power and influence to boss their way, so as to get what they want.
When FDR was President, a new deal was legislated into place, which was very influential in the creation of the vibrant American middle class and of providing the safety net so needed for those that were the least and most vulnerable. Decades later, America is still the wealthiest nation that the world has ever known, which signifies that America should be embarrassed and ashamed that it has such a huge portion of its population that is ill educated, ill fed, with poor healthcare, and are living in environments that aren’t healthy or all that safe. Because of this massive American wealth disparity which increases by the day, those that have it all have never had it any better; as contrasted to all those that have nothing, and are provided with a deal so rotten, that their dilapidated infrastructure provides them with no reasonable chance to extricate themselves from a very poor situation.
If this really is a government, of, for, and by the people; then it is high time for that government to utilize effectively its power to help level the playing field, so that those that are at the short end of the stick, at least get a little something of value from the American dream -- rather than those that have more than enough wealth for generations upon generations to come, getting ever more, at the expense of all those that have never even been provided with a fair chance or a stable base to build their own foundation upon.