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  3. In this year’s State of the Union address, President Obama outlined a plan to gradually raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $9/

In this year’s State of the Union address, President Obama outlined a plan to gradually raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $9/

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问题     In this year’s State of the Union address, President Obama outlined a plan to gradually raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $9/hour. Raising the minimum wage has always been contentious, but necessary. Yet this is a political fight we shouldn’t have to have. The poor—mostly women and minorities—make too little. And the more radical aspect of Obama’s plan could fix that for good. The president has proposed indexing minimum wage, meaning that it would increase each year as the cost of living slowly climbs, free from the whims of partisan fighting.
    Our federal minimum wage began in 1938, when President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act, which also limited the work-week to 44 hours, provided guaranteed overtime and placed limits on child labor. The minimum wage was set at 25 cents an hour(about $4.10 today). Its purpose was simple: guarantee that Americans who went to work received a wage they could live on. And the hope was that higher wages for workers would mean more consumer spending, thus strengthening the U.S. economy. Since its enactment, the benefits of a minimum wage have been well established.
    It is important to consider how much people earning the minimum wage actually make. At present, a minimum wage earner working 40 hours a week without ever taking a vacation will make $15,080 a year. Obama’s proposed increase would mean an additional $3,640. Most minimum wage workers are adults, not teens, and most work for large corporations, not mom-and-pop stores. This means there are hard-working parents who are employed full-time at places that make billions in profits and often receive considerable tax breaks. And yet these parents still don’t earn enough to live above the poverty line.
    How have we gotten to a place where people can work tirelessly and still not make ends meet? In large part it’s the result of political ambivalence to the conditions of poverty and the wages of our lowest paid workers. As the minimum wage has remained flat, productivity has increased, and so too have corporate profits.
    While the economic arguments for raising the minimum wage are important, we should also not forget to think about the morality of our economy. We all derive not just wages from our labors, but purpose, meaning and a sense that we are part of something greater than ourselves: by supporting our family, helping our co-workers, and participating in the shared enterprise of community. Yes, the minimum wage should be higher. But it’s not just because it’s good for the economy and will help raise the wages of even non-minimum wageworkers. It’s because there is a value to work that is deeper than money.
President Franklin established the minimum wage with the purpose to
选项 A、guarantee that Americans received a wage they could live on.
B、set limits on child labor.
C、ensure workers’ basic living expenses.
D、stimulate consumer spending and the economy.
答案C
解析 根据President Franklin定位到文章第二段。段落中间出现了明显的提示词：The minimum wagewas set…，Its purpose was simple：…，冒号后面的内容表明，保障参加工作的美国人都能领到一份能够养活自己的工资。换句话说，即能够保障工人的基本生活开支，C项符合。
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