In this column for Dollars & Sense, Assistant Research Professor Jeannette Wick-Lim asks the controversial question "Should we be talking about living wages now?" As she writes, "In today’s economic climate, the worst since the Great Depression, are the raises demanded by living-wage campaigns a luxury? Should living-wage campaigns take a back seat to pulling the economy out of recession?" Wicks-Lim argues that in this crisis economy the lowest-paid workers are the most vulnerable, and hence this is a moment when their rights and protections need to be supported with ongoing vigilance. She looks toward two policy prescriptions: using the economic recovery plan as a tool to impose living-wage requirements, and creating a long-term living-wage policy with multi-step raises guided by interim economic impact studies.