Catherwood LibraryILR School

A study on the hidden costs of low wage work in California, by the Center for Labor Research and Education, UC Berkeley, found that taxpayers in that state are subsidizing the low-wage economy by about $10 billion a year through public health services, tax credits, child-care programs and other assistance for the working poor. The study found that funds from the ten biggest statewide public assistance programs went to families with at least one full-time worker. The report recommends raising the minimum wage to at least $8 an hour from the current $6.75, then workers could be self sufficient and would not qualify for the taxpayer funded social programs. However, the effects and policy implications of the growing low wage economy in California are hotly debated.