Letter | Raising minimum wage is right thing to do | Myrtle Beach Sun News

I don’t understand why so many middle class and lower class people seem to support the Republican Party. Republicans are against things that are good for average citizens.

They are blocking the bill to raise the minimum wage to $10.10. It is now at $7.25. The bill would also raise the wage for restaurant and other tipped workers whose employers pay them as little as $2.13 before tips.

I went to the State of South Carolina web site that lists the average pay for workers in the Myrtle Beach and Conway area. The average gross monthly salary for retail salespeople is $1,840, for hotel/motel desk clerk it is $1,710, for maids and housekeeping cleaners it is $1,484, and for combined food preparation and serving workers (including fast food) it is $1,468. All of these are below the $2,116 per month for a family of three to qualify for SNAP (food assistance).

Republicans say that passage of the bill will cost jobs because places would have to pay their workers more. The fact is, similar businesses would be under the same law. I don’t think people are going to quit buying fast food and other things just because they might have to pay a little bit more. Working people deserve a fair wage, but they aren’t likely to get it if the Republicans have their way.

The writer lives in Georgetown.