Why Buncombe County Must Ensure Work Pays
Work is supposed to provide more than exhaustion. It is meant to offer stability, dignity, and the ability to live—not just survive. When full-time workers cannot afford basic necessities, something has gone deeply wrong.
In Buncombe County, thousands of people are working hard and still falling behind. They clean hotel rooms, serve meals, care for our elderly, staff our hospitals, teach our children, and keep our local economy moving. Yet many of them cannot afford rent, healthcare, childcare, or reliable transportation—often while working more than one job.
That is not laziness. That is not personal failure. That is a broken system.
A living wage simply means this: if you work full time, you should be able to afford the basics of life in the community where you work. It’s not a luxury wage. It’s not about excess. It’s about meeting the real cost of living—housing, food, transportation, healthcare, and a small margin of security when life goes wrong.
For too long, wages have failed to keep pace with reality. Productivity has risen. Corporate profits have grown. Executive pay has soared. But paychecks for ordinary workers have stagnated while the cost of living has climbed steadily upward. The result is economic anxiety baked into everyday life.
When wages fall behind, the consequences ripple outward. Families are forced into impossible choices. Workers burn out. Small businesses struggle to retain staff. Public services absorb the costs through emergency healthcare, housing assistance, and crisis intervention. We end up paying anyway—just in less humane and less effective ways.
A living wage is not just good for workers; it’s good for the entire community.
People who earn a living wage spend their money locally. They are healthier. They are more productive. They are more likely to stay in their jobs and invest in their neighborhoods. Employers benefit from lower turnover and a more stable workforce. Communities benefit from reduced strain on social services.
This is not theoretical. Regions that have adopted living wage standards have seen stronger local economies and healthier communities. The idea that fair wages destroy jobs has been repeatedly disproven. What actually harms economies is instability—when workers can’t plan, save, or stay.
Some argue that wages should be left entirely to the market. But markets are shaped by rules, incentives, and values. We already intervene—through minimum wage laws, tax policy, zoning, and economic development subsidies. The real question is whether those interventions serve people or simply protect the status quo.
Buncombe County prides itself on being a place of creativity, hospitality, and care. But those values ring hollow if the people who make this community run cannot afford to live here. A county that depends on underpaid labor is not thriving—it is quietly eroding its own future.
A living wage is about respect. It says that work has value, that people matter more than margins, and that prosperity should be shared, not hoarded. It is a commitment to economic dignity and long-term stability rather than short-term gain.
If we want a strong Buncombe County tomorrow, we must ensure that work pays today.
A living wage is not radical. It is responsible. And it is overdue.
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