There’s a big difference between earning minimum wage and making enough to live comfortably, or even make ends meet. Many Vermonters struggle while making much more than minimum wage.
Take, for example, Lee Russell is a 66-year-old widow who works as a receptionist and moonlights weekends at Wal-Mart. Or Kevin Gallagher, who works at Leonardo’s Pizza in Burlington.
Then, VPR’s Jane Lindholm talks to Colin Robinson, director of the Vermont Livable Wage Campaign, and Art Woolf, who is an associate professor of economics at the University of Vermont and principal in Northern Economic Consulting.