All 5C students, staff, and faculty are welcome to join us for this lively, public debate on “The United States should establish a guaranteed living wage,” at the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum on Tuesday, September 12 at 6:45 PM. The audience is invited to participate through a moderated question/comment period, argumentative heckling, and a final vote.
Why are we discussing a guaranteed living wage? Nearly 60 years after the War on Poverty was declared, the United States suffered from the highest poverty rate and third highest level of income inequality out of all thirty-four OECD nations in 2021. Establishing a guaranteed living wage would ensure that individuals or families have the funds to cover living costs through a government transfer. But is a living wage worth the cost that may be passed down for generations? Experts estimate that the price of such a program would be over $3 trillion — nearly half of all federal spending and nearly double the federal deficit in 2022.
The debate is organized by the Claremont Colleges Debate Union, a 5-C program centered at Claremont McKenna College; it is among the largest and most successful college debating societies in the nation. No reservations are needed to attend the debate. To attend the reception (5:30 PM) and dinner (6:00 PM), please sign up on the Athenaeum website.
Please visit https://www.cmc.edu/athenaeum/schedules/current-semester-schedule for more information.
