"Living Wage vs Minimum Wage "  (Ask Dr. Salary at Payscale.com)

A controversial movement popping up in America is the “living wage law.” Earlier this year, the Chicago City Council passed a living wage law aimed at “big- box retailers,” which would have required stores such as Wal-Mart and Target to pay wages of at least $10 an hour plus $3 in fringe benefits by the middle of 2010.

Wal-Mart and other mega-retailers voiced objections and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley subsequently exercised his first veto in 17 years, killing the living wage measure. Daley defended his veto claiming that the measure would have unfairly kept such stores out of black city neighborhoods, which need jobs. The Council tried to override Daley's veto, but fell three votes short.

How big of a difference would the living wage have been vs. the current minimum wage? Currently, the minimum wage in Illinois is $6.50 an hour, while federal minimum wage (for all states) is $5.15. Does your job pay above minimum wage? Find out with our salary calculator

You might be surprised to learn which jobs pay a minimum wage, or just a little above.

Perhaps the most shocking finding is Pharmacy Technicians whose average pay is $6.63 an hour; keep in mind, that's a person mixing and assembling prescription medications, which may indeed decide life and death.

How about an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) / Paramedic clocking in at an average pay of $6.44 an hour? That's six cents less than a Barista mixing lattes and mochas for an average wage of $6.50 an hour. It's disturbing to think that average pay for mixing coffee has risen above emergency care, but the disparity in average wages doesn't end there.

The average pay for a Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) is $6.51 an hour for medical care, while her less trained counterpart, Receptionist/Telephone Operator takes in an hourly wage of $6.57. A Personal/Home Care Aide may make serious medical decisions if the person in their care is incapacitated, but for only an average of $6.46, less than the average Retail Service Clerk stocking sweaters for an hourly wage of $6.58.

Using our salary calculator, here are more average wages per hour:

Security Officer $6.62

Administrative/Office Manager $6.47

Truck Driver, Light or Delivery Services $6.31

Maid or Housekeeping Cleaner $6.15

Night Auditor, Hotel $6.44

Teacher Assistant $6.74

Bank Teller $6.55

Cashier $6.40

Some would say let the invisible hand of the marketplace decide, while others insist that many average wages simply do not keep up with the cost of living; that was dramatic argument behind the “Living Wage” movement.

It started in Baltimore where workers in homeless shelters and soup kitchens noticed that many visitors coming in for meals and shelter had full-time jobs. In response, church groups and labor unions successfully persuaded the City Council to raise the base pay for city contract workers from $4.25, the federal minimum wage at the time, to $6.10 an hour.

On the other side, one argument is that living wage laws, such as the one proposed in Chicago, unfairly target large retail companies such as Wal-Mart. However, Wal-Mart has been targeted before, receiving many tax breaks and subsidies that smaller companies don't get.

Another argument against living wage laws is that they will discourage businesses and cost jobs. No doubt when you raise the hourly wage some companies will opt out, and even outsource jobs to foreign countries, while others survive the change in higher average wages.

So far, there are living wage laws in Santa Fe and Albuquerque , New Mexico as well as San Francisco ; and Washington D.C. In Florida , in 2004, 71 percent of vote went to raise the state's minimum wage by a dollar, to $6.15.

Seeking to raise the hourly wage in more states, Grass-roots and labor organizations have begun gathering thousands of signatures to place proposed laws on the ballot in November in such states as Michigan , Arizona , Ohio and Colorado . Future states planned are Oklahoma , Montana and Arkansas , where Wal-Mart began.

How does you salary measure up, is it minimum, living, or above? Use the PayScale salary survey to find out.