Wage Standards and Workplace Freedom

Policies to raise wages should be a linchpin of progressive leadership. A higher wage is the best anti-poverty program and a key "pro-family" policy to allow parents to work fewer hours and have more time with their families. It is also one of the best local economic development tools, since it increases local consumer spending of workers receiving a higher wage. Fundamentally, strong wage policies express the progressive value of the dignity of work and that all labor should be rewarded reasonably.