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Sustainable Living Wages and Income

Ever since CREA was told by a corporate manager that the wages paid to the workers were "living wages" because the workers are alive, CREA has used the phrase Sustainable Living Wages.  Operating out of our foundational belief in the dignity of each person and all persons, CREA asserts that every person is entitled to food that meets universal nutritional standards, clothing that reflects the persons innate dignity, housing that allows privacy as well as shelter, affordable and accessible health care, and education that cultivates their gifts and talents and enables them to contribute to their community.

Coffee Farmer and Family - El Salvador

Sustainable Living Wages.  These are wages that not only meet the basic needs of the workers and their families, but also provide for the setting aside of money for participation in culturally required activities, and planning for future betterment.

Sustainable Living Income.  CREA has extended its studies into the agricultural and crafts sectors, we have included this term for those workers do not receive "wages."  Workers who operate on their own, or in collaboratives or cooperatives, provide the labor and skill needed for production.  How much they receive for their work depends on their negotiations with purchasers, either directly or through intermediary agents.  It also depends on the existence of a viable market for their products. Finally, it depends upon decisions about the allocation of profits: the proportion going to the workers, and the proportion set aside to be invested in production materials and capital improvements. What the worker makes is his or her income.

     
The tool that CREA uses to measure what constitutes a sustainable living wage or income in any location is the Purchasing Power Index (PPI). The PPI provides a clarity about wages that is missing when wages in another country are simply translated into U.S. dollar amounts. The PPI can be used both domestically and internationally.

Purchasing Power Index links:

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