This piece is part of a 2-part series. The second part, “Minimum Wage: In Support of Struggling Businesses,” can be found here.

At Sacramento Area Congregations Together, we seek an economy wherein everyone who is working full time is able to afford food, shelter and life’s basic necessities. We seek an economy that serves working people, who deserve to earn livable wages and have the opportunity to grow their wealth. When the economy serves people by allowing them to earn money, they can invest money back into the economy, thereby increasing economic health for everyone. We want an economy where full-time workers are self-sufficient and not dependent on government aid to supplement their wages. We want an economy that works for us. But here is a glimpse of our reality:

“I work for a temp agency that charges their clients as much as $29 per hour;I get $10 of that,” says Pyerse Dandridge, a dishwasher making minimum wage and formerly incarcerated leader of Sacramento ACT. “When I work 40 hours, I make about $1,200 after taxes. If I don’t get enough hours, I can use unemployment to help cover some of the missing income. Of course, if I make too much money — $800 per month — I won’t qualify for unemployment.”

As Gov. Jerry Brown struck a budget deal Tuesday that would offer healthcare to children in the country illegally, Sacramento County supervisors — sitting less than a mile away — also agreed to provide medical care for county residents who lack papers.

Speaking of a statewide campaign for universal health coverage, Anthony Wright, executive director of the advocacy group Health Access California, said, "It was a big day for Health for All, in Sacramento and in Sacramento," referring to Capitol Hill and the county.

Reports: Number of mentally ill behind bars doubled in last decade

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) —A group of local pastors are calling on authorities in Sacramento County to offer medical treatment, instead of jail time, to mentally ill people who confront police officers.

After responding to years of budget cuts, Sacramento County law enforcement leaders said Tuesday they want more money to improve their crime-fighting efforts.

In advance of next month’s county budget hearings, supervisors held a workshop Tuesday to hear from Sheriff Scott Jones, District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert and Chief Probation Officer Lee Seale.

Jones, who has a budget of about $400 million, said he needs an additional $7 million to make the department more community-oriented and not simply one that responds to emergencies.

Sacramento Area Congregations Together is holding a free community forum with the Board of State and Community Corrections.

The forum will discuss regional, state and local priorities for expanding alternatives to incarceration and reducing recidivism in Sacramento and the state.

The forum will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 19, at the South Sacramento Christian Center, 7710 Stockton Blvd. in Sacramento.

A sizable majority of Sacramento voters favors setting a higher minimum wage locally, according to a poll commissioned by community groups that are pushing the idea.

David Binder Research, a San Francisco firm, conducted the telephone survey of 500 Sacramento voters. It found 70 percent of Sacramento voters would support a measure to raise the city’s minimum wage to $13.50 an hour. And 58 percent of voters said they would approve raising Sacramento’s wage floor to $15 an hour over three years.

McDonald’s corporate spin machine is trying to pull a fast one, touting the company’s announcement of a modest hourly increase for a tiny fraction of workers as real progress (“McDonald’s new pay raise offers workers a break,” Editorials, April 4).

But the facts of the fast food giant’s abysmal relationship with its employees speak for themselves.

SACRAMENTO - Democratic legislative leaders are proposing a package of 10 bills that would extend health care, legal rights and business protections to immigrants who are illegally living in California.

Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins of San Diego and Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon of Los Angeles will led a legislative push Tuesday to expand health coverage to all Californians, regardless of their immigration status.

"They deserve healthcare, they deserve education, they deserve the right to be full and participating members as Californians," Atkins said.