Four Representatives have introduced the Living Wage for All Act. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill.; Chuy García, D-Ill.; Lateefah Simon, D-Calif.; and Analilia Mejia, D-N.J introduced the bill on Tuesday. It would raise the federal minimum wage to $25, up from $7.25. $25 per hour means $1,000 per week.

That sounds great! But. It is a direct attack on those of us on Social Security.* Many have problems with putting food on the table and will not enjoy having someone who makes a thousand a week putting our groceries in a bag when some of us draw less than that for a whole month. Some of those same people put the groceries on the shelves. Their time is to be 41.7 cents per minute. How many cans can they stock in a minute? We all know that the owner of the store gets the money to pay the thousand from us. It's a part of the cost of inventory, upkeep of the store, heating / cooling, real estate taxes, management, and profit.

Owners / management knows profit is going to take a hit. They may have been looking at self service checkouts. If a self checkout station costs $10,000 to put in, It will take much less time to pay for it at the new higher wage. Think of it as a manager: The station never fails to show up. The station never gets sick. There are no 'problems' with another station. The store can have 2 stations instead of 1 old fashioned checkout because they don't have someone filling bags.

This example, of a grocery store, is used to illustrate what happens with businesses country-wide. Present and future jobs are lost (Robots assembling cars?). Many young people will not get the experience (and its training) of responsibilities in having a job. Some of the sorting out of priorities, that young people do, will be lost; lives will be affected.

And the Representatives know they will not be held accountable for the losses and inflation which compounds on debt.

*"The SSI monthly maximum Federal amounts for 2026 are $994 for an eligible individual, $1,491 for an eligible individual with an eligible spouse, and $498 for an essential person."