“Minimum wage”
Warren writes, "I also knew that the move to raise the minimum wage was gaining traction around the country. And I knew that this hearing was pretty good platform to move that fight forward. After all, this committee really did have the power to recommend a raise for thirty million Americans." Warren endorses the increasing of the minimum wage for the benefit of the working class. She is part of the committee dealing with the minimum wage issue. For her, the issue is very significant because she believes that it would be contributory to enhancing the middle class' financial status.
Inflation
Warren confirms, “I also understood that for more than forty years, workers’ pay hadn’t kept up pace with inflation. Productivity had gone up. Profits had gone up. Executives had gotten raises. Couldn’t we at last come together to make sure that the people who did some of the hardest, dirtiest work in the nation got at least a chance to build a little security?" Inflation reduces the value of the working class's income. Their purchasing power has been diminishing through the years due to inflation. Warren cites inflation to justify her argument for the increase in the minimum wages.
“Walton Family”
Warren remarks, “There are seven members of the Walton family, Walmart’s major shareholders, on the Forbes list of the countries’ four hundred riches people, and together these seven Waltons have as much as wealth as about 130 million other Americans. Seven people-not enough to fill the lineup of a softball team- and they have more money than 40 percent of our nations’ population put together.” The Walton family epitomizes the extreme inequalities in America. Despite their affluence, the employees at their company are poor. The Walton family contributes to wealth inequalities by paying low wages to their workers who are instrumental in creating their wealth.
“Food Stamps”
Warren explains, “Walmart is the largest employer in the country. More than a million and a half Americans are working to make this corporation among the most profitable in the world. Meanwhile, Gina points out that at her store, “Almost all the young people are on food stamps." 'Food stumps' are the embodiments of poverty. Evidently, the wages that Walmart offers its employees are not sufficient; hence, despite working for a wealthy cooperation, the employees cannot afford food. Walmart's massive profits benefit the shareholders only, but the employees keep suffering in poverty.
Employers
Warren elucidates, “Employers in other industries have invented new models that are every bit as effective as Walmart’s efforts to eliminate guaranteed hours, fixed schedules, minimum wages and benefits. They classify workers as subcontractors, independent contractors, or gig workers. Today, millions of hardworking people live in a world in which their incomes go up and down, their schedules shift from day to day, and they take whatever work is available.”
The employers' tactics are intended to make the workers desperate and dispensable. Flexible schedules do not guarantee specific income for the workers due to the fluctuation of working hours. Despairing workers would opt to take up any available work even though its pay is not attractive; the employers want the workers to be at their mercy at all times.
