The U.S. economy is, and has long been, for better or worse, driven by consumer spending.

It’s perplexing that many members of the business community believe that breaking up unions and holding down the incomes of the middle class, lower-middle class, and the poor will somehow equate to more profits and a stronger economy.

In the long term, it’s an unsustainable model … as it greatly reduces the disposable income of a vast swath of our population.

And it will lead to higher payments for welfare and other safety-net programs to sustain those in need.

What we need, to keep the economy moving and for our citizens to thrive, is a Living Wage.

Currently several municipalities have set that wage at $15.00 an hour.

We need to increase the Federal Minimum Wage to that amount by 2020, and to tie that wage to inflation.