To end poverty, raise the minimum wage

To the Editor;

Minimum wage is not enough to live on and every day Mainers struggle to make ends meet. I’m a lifelong Mainer and a mental health care worker. Like many of the people who work to take care of loved ones in assisted living facilities, I work for low wages. These jobs, among the most important in our aging state, are undervalued and underpaid. Raising the minimum wage would improve the ability of thousands of people caring for our loved ones to care for their own loved ones.

Additionally, these low-paying jobs prevent people from adequately saving for their own retirements. People living paycheck to paycheck can’t put away for retirement, invest in a home, contribute as much to Social Security or save for a rainy day. Ultimately, this contributes to the vicious cycle that keeps our state in poverty.

Danielle VanHelsing 
Dover-Foxcroft