Of course it's only Democratic politicians who are doing this-- Republicans would never even think of doing it

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Politicians including Rep. Tim Ryan to spend a week living on minimum wage
By Sabrina Eaton, July 21, 2014

To mark the fifth year since the federal minimum wage was increased to $7.25 an hour, a group of Democratic politicians who want to raise it to $10.10 plan to live on a minimum-wage type budget this week to experience privations those workers face.

Ohio politicians including Niles-area Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan and former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland on Monday announced their participation in the "Live the Wage Challenge" spearheaded by Americans United for Change, a liberal organization funded by labor unions.

Strickland said that many people in Washington "live in a bubble" and don't know what it's like for Americans who struggle to pay their bills on a minimum wage salary. He added that that some low-wage workers "work harder than Mitch McConnell, John Boehner or any of the rest of us."

"This is a matter of common decency and fairness," continued Strickland, who currently heads the Center for American Progress Action Fund. "Those of us engaged in this effort will be able to experience at some level what it must be like for those who live week after week, month after month, working really hard and struggling to keep their nose above the water line."

Instead of moving into smaller houses for the week or experiencing a cut in their $174,000 yearly congressional salary, Ryan and the other politicians will try to pay for food and all other expenses out of the $77 weekly that Americans United for Change says minimum wage workers take home after paying their taxes and housing expenses.

Advocates of raising the minimum wage to $10.10, such as Ryan, say the extra money will enable a better living standard for low-wage workers, and will improve the economy by giving them more spending money.

Ryan, his schoolteacher wife, and their children will actually live off  the $154 he and his wife would take home if they were both minimum wage workers. The pair have stocked up on diapers for their newborn baby before beginning the challenge and also won't have babysitting expenses because his wife has summers off.

"We will still be a long way from living the reality that many of these families face," Ryan admitted during a press call to announce his participation in the program.

He said he's participating to "bring awareness to a major social justice issue."

"This is an opportunity to put our money where our mouth is," Ryan continued.

Ryan ended up cheating a bit when he took a similar "Food Stamp Challenge" in 2007 that required him to eat only food paid for with the $21 in benefits that people on food stamps typically receive. He ended up eating a pork chop at a hotel restaurant before delivering a commencement speech because he feared he'd be too weak to continue. The Transportation Safety Administration also confiscated jars of peanut butter and jelly that Ryan tried to take on an airplane.

"When I went through the food stamp challenge as a single man, I made some poor decisions while trying to shop," said Ryan. "I think now, with the help of my wife, we will try to do a bit better job as far as allocating resources."
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