Summary: The Second Wave Of American Slavery

The Second Wave of American Slavery

In 1938, Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed into law a minimum wage of $0.25 an hour. This was part of his initiative to lift the United States out of the Great Depression, and provide every American with a livable paycheck. Since then, the minimum wage has increased to account for inflation. However, many Americans are still working full time in poverty. This discouraging figure, along with the prohibitively high cost of a higher education has led to a second wave of slaves in the twenty-first century. These wage slaves work in industries such as customer service, construction, and retail. According to a 2014 study from the UC Davis Center for Poverty Research, 23% of poor Americans are employed, with 4% of full time workers beneath the poverty line, and 16% of part time workers beneath it. Because of this, these 10.6 million people receive Welfare, or some other form of assisted living. According to the Institute for Economic Policy, roughly…show more content…
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